the role of social network within industrial organization
TRANSCRIPT
The Role of Social Network within
Industrial Organization The case of Scania
Master’s thesis within Informatics
Author: Ali Samir Mohammad Khidhir
Anand Santhanam
Tutor: Ahmad Ghazawneh
Jönköping June 2012
Master’s Thesis in Informatics
Title: The Role of Enterprise Social Network within Industrial Organization
Author: Ali Samir Mohammad Khidhir and Anand Santhanam
Tutor: Ahmad Ghazawneh
Date: 2012-06-05
Subject terms:
Abstract
The start of the Internet Revolution was characterised by the ability to communicate and
access data on the data base. However flexibility in communication was still an issue as it
was rigid. Hence the web was a privilege of a very few. The other aspect was that an indi-
vidual can search and access data but cannot contribute to the same. The web 2.0 became a
revolution in the internet which disposed off rigid structures there by encouraging people
from all walks of life to use the internet. The most striking feature is the ability to partici-
pate and contribute knowledge, conduct live video and audio interactions and form groups
on the internet. The platform that helped people to form groups is referred to as the social
media network.
The formation of groups is based on common interest, psychographic and demographic
characteristics, knowledge of a person’s activities and interaction. This social network used
for personal activities has now been adapted for organizations. However there is a slight
difference as the nature of information shared would be more official and work related.
Organizations which were very closed and secretive about their R&D activities saw the
need to embrace collaboration and open innovation in order to increase the speed of inno-
vation and reduce the time to market. Also various stakeholders such as employees, share-
holders, managers, customers, suppliers, government needed interact with the organization
activities. A tool was also needed to capture and share the knowledge generated in the or-
ganization.
This research paper aims to investigate the role of enterprise social network to address
these concerns. The authors have considered a case study based research approach as it is
the best method to answer the research question. The leading multinational Bus and truck
manufacture Scania was considered for our case study. The study has been done by re-
searching the impact of enterprise social network tools such as Yammer and Lync and their
attempt to answer these challenges in the organization. The paper concludes with the
analysis based on the empirical findings and theoretical frame of reference. Suggestions and
recommendations for further research in this area have also been mentioned in the con-
cluding part of the thesis. .
Acknowledgements
This master thesis would not have been completed without the encouragement and coop-eration of various members. We are sincerely thankful to the informatics department at JIBS and Scania for having helped us complete our Master thesis. It has been a great jour-ney for us over the past three months.
We would like to thank Mr. Jorgen Lind for his support and introduction at the beginning of the thesis course. We would like to thank Mr. Ahmad Ghazawneh our thesis supervisor for his unflinching support and direction in writing our thesis. We would also like to thank Associate Professor Klas Gäre for his help in the initial stage of the thesis. We are also thankful to Mrs. Christina Keller for her continuous help in monitoring our writing at every stage to ensure that the document meets the standards. We would also like to thank Professor Vivian Vimarlund, the head of informatics department in JIBS. We are also thankful to Mr. Ulf Larsson for his valuable suggestions in the initial stages of the thesis. This acknowledgement would incomplete without rendering heartfelt thanks especially to Mr. Jan Laestander, the group manager in charge of IT at Scania AB for the interview that was necessary in our Thesis.
We are also extremely grateful to our family and friends for extending their support during our study period.
Thanking you all for the support,
Ali Samir Mohammad Khidhir & Anand Santhanam
June, 2012
i
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ................................................................... ii
1 Introduction .......................................................................... 1
1.1 Background ................................................................................... 1 1.2 Social Networks............................................................................. 3 1.3 Enterprise 2.0 ................................................................................ 5 1.4 Problem ......................................................................................... 5
1.5 Perspective ................................................................................... 6 1.6 Research Purpose ......................................................................... 6 1.7 Research Question ........................................................................ 7 1.8 Limitations of the Research ........................................................... 7
1.9 Definitions ..................................................................................... 7
2 Theoretical frame of reference ............................................ 9
2.1 Innovation: ..................................................................................... 9 2.1.1 Closed Innovation: .............................................................. 9 2.1.2 Open Innovation ............................................................... 10
2.2 Stakeholder theory ...................................................................... 12 2.2.1 Descriptive/Empirical ........................................................ 14
2.2.2 Instrumental ...................................................................... 14 2.2.3 Normative ......................................................................... 14
2.3 Summary of the Stake holder theory ........................................... 15
2.4 Group Dynamics.......................................................................... 15 2.4.1 A Trust- based Group Dynamics in Web 2.0 Social Networks ..................................................................................... 16 2.4.2 A Proposed Triad Relational Model of Social Life on the Internet .................................................................................. 17
2.5 Knowledge sharing ...................................................................... 18
2.5.1 Internalization ................................................................... 18 2.5.2 Externalization .................................................................. 19 2.5.3 Objectification ................................................................... 19
2.6 Blogs ........................................................................................... 19 2.7 Forums ........................................................................................ 20
2.8 RSS ............................................................................................. 20 2.9 Web Conferencing ....................................................................... 20
2.10 Tagging ....................................................................................... 20
2.11 Generalizability --- Connecting the enterprise social network with the concepts in the Frame of Reference: .......................... 21
3 Methodology ....................................................................... 22
3.1 Research Approach ..................................................................... 22 3.2 Qualitative Research Method ...................................................... 23 3.3 Research Strategy – Case Study ................................................ 24 3.4 Data Collection ............................................................................ 24
3.4.1 Primary Data ..................................................................... 25
3.4.2 Secondary Data ................................................................ 26 3.5 Literature Review ........................................................................ 27 3.6 Data Analysis .............................................................................. 28
ii
3.6.1 Modes of Analysis ............................................................. 28
3.6.2 Activities in Data Analysis ................................................. 29 3.7 Research Quality ......................................................................... 29
3.7.1 Triangulation- Qualitative Research .................................. 30 3.8 Research Ethics .......................................................................... 31
4 Empirical Findings ............................................................. 32
4.1 The profile of Scania ................................................................... 32 4.2 Motivation to Choose Scania ....................................................... 33 4.3 Social Networking Tools Used in Scania ..................................... 34
4.3.1 Microsoft Lync................................................................... 35 4.3.2 Yammer ............................................................................ 38
4.4 Security ....................................................................................... 42
5 Discussions and Analysis ................................................. 44
5.1 Open Innovation .......................................................................... 44 5.1.1 Being Open ....................................................................... 44
5.1.2 Peering ............................................................................. 44 5.1.3 Sharing ............................................................................. 45 5.1.4 Acting Globally .................................................................. 45
5.2 Stake Holder Theory ................................................................... 46
5.2.1 Descriptive ........................................................................ 46 5.2.2 Instrumental ...................................................................... 46 5.2.3 Normative ......................................................................... 47
5.2.4 Managerial ........................................................................ 47 5.3 Group Dynamics.......................................................................... 48
5.3.1 Group formation on Peer Expectation and Appreciation ................................................................................ 48
5.3.2 Group formations that capitalize on synergy and collective intelligence ................................................................... 48
5.3.3 Group Dynamics and Role of HR in Enterprise Social Network ............................................................................ 49 5.3.4 Trust-- an important factor in Group Dynamics ................. 49
5.4 Knowledge sharing using enterprise social network .................... 50 5.4.1 Internalization ................................................................... 50
5.4.2 Externalization .................................................................. 50 5.4.3 Objectification ................................................................... 50
5.5 Knowledge management system and Enterprise Social Network.................................................................................................. 51
6 Conclusions ........................................................................ 52
6.1 Reflections .................................................................................. 53 6.2 Future Research.......................................................................... 54
iii
Figures Figure 1: Path ways from creator to consumer in web 2.0 ......................................2
Figure 2: Closed Innovation model ...................................................................................9
Figure 3: Open Innovation Model ...................................................................................10
Figure 4: Stake Holders Connected to firm ................................................................13
Figure 5: Three Aspects of Stake Holder Theory ...................................................14
Figure 6: A proposed Triad model of Social Life on the Internet ..........................18
Figure 7: The Knowledge Sharing Cycle.........................................................................18
Figure 8: Generalizability....................................................................................................21
Figure 9: Research Process................................................................................................22
Figure 10:Scania Logo .......................................................................................................32
Tables Table 1: Interview details...................................................................................................26
Appendix
References.............................................................................................................................56
Interview Guide ................................................................................................................62
1
1 Introduction
This chapter introduces the topic and the reason for the research to the reader. The background section explains the evolution of social networks and their transition from a personal to an enterprise social network for a more produc-tive purpose. The problem description and purpose section explain the main scope of this research. The research questions outline the main focus of this study. The definitions enlighten the reader on the various concepts to make it easier to understand. The section under perspective explains the context in which this topic is being analyzed. The limitation of the research explains the constraints that the authors of this research topic faced while writing the research thesis
1.1 Background
The internet revolution started primarily as a source of communication between people. This
was called the web 1.0. A host of new software’s and applications were developed to leverage
web 1.0. Web 1.0 envisaged the web as a platform, while web 2.0 considers web as a service.
Web 1.0 was based on using the browser as an access control point for uploading content and
developing applications. With the control point firmly established it would become possible to
exert monopoly on the web. Web 2.0 however has broken this very concept and it acts as a facili-
tator and not as a controller. (T.Reilly, 2005)
The other important aspect is the greater freedom and flexibility and ease of communication that
the users have in web 2.0 or the new web. (Wesch, 2007) summarized the transition from web
1.0 to web 2.0 as the linking of people as opposed to the linking of information. Also the resur-
gence and evolution in hardware such as smart phones and communication technology such as
wifi, 3G and 4G has contributed to the popularity of web 2.0.
According to Tom Gruber (2007) Collective intelligence is a grand vision, one to which every
one subscribes. However, the use of social web would refer to something else called the collected
intelligence. That is, the value of these user contributions is in their being collected together and
aggregated into community- or domain-specific sites (Tom Gruber, 2007). The other important
aspect of collective intelligence is the dynamic and not static. In web 1.0 knowledge contribution
was restricted to a few individuals who were experts on subjects. The other users could only
consume the knowledge. However in web 2.0 this barrier has been overwhelmed with consumers
and producers turning into prosumers (Tom Gruber, 2007).
Static can be assumed as something that is in a constant single state for a period of time or can
be described as a permanent state. While on the contrary dynamic is something that keeps chang-
ing with time rapidly. The only constant feature of dynamism is change. Collective intelligence
would fall in the category of dynamism. Although critics argue that collective intelligence may be
a suspect quality, the ever changing nature of collective intelligence or user contribution ensures
that the desirable level of intelligence is reached at the earliest.
2
Cormode and Krishnamurthy (2008) summarized in their journal the difference between web 1.0
and web 2.0 on various parameters such as structure, form, content flexibility, classification,
multi channel accessibility, sharing, collective contribution and the programming languages that
are used for developing applications on web 2.0.
"Studying a Web 2.0 site in detail can be inherently harder than studying the Web1 ecosystem, since it requires
crawling deep inside the particular Web2 site. Some sites enforce a very user centric view of the site, meaning that
each account can only see detailed information about explicit friend’s comparison to Web1.0 which is typically
stateless. In particular, the trend is towards an increasingly customized front page so that no two users have the
same experience." (Cormode and Krishnamurthy, 2000, pp-8)
Figure 1: Path ways from creator to consumer in web 2.0 (Cormode and Krishnamurthy, 2008)
According to Cormode and Krishnamurthy (2008) the challenge lies in developing metrics to
gauge user activity on web 2.0. Further Cormode and Krishnamurthy (2008) state that the bene-
fit of placing an application within web 2.0 that has a social networking component attached to it
compared with directly hosting it is the ability to instantly market the application and make it
popular. According to Bryan Alexander and Alan Levine (2008) there are two essential features
that distinguish Web 2.0 projects and platforms from the rest of the web are micro content and
social media. The first feature called micro content, suggests that authors create small chunks of
content wherein each chunk conveys a primary idea or concept. These pieces are smaller than
websites in terms of information architecture and are meant to be reused in multiple ways and
3
places. They can be uploaded to the web easily without any hassles. It does not require any major
technical expertise. Creating Web 2.0 content requires making a few selections from menu,
choosing a variety of well designed templates or adding a page name to an existing wiki page.
One outcome of this approach is a drastically lower bar for participation and publishing.
Bryan Alexander and Alan Levine (2008) further state that if readers closely examine a Web 2.0
project, they will find that it is often touched by multiple people, whether in the content creation
part or via associated comments or discussion areas. If they participate actively by contributing
content it is called social media. Another feature of Web 2.0 is the use of comprehensive search
tools that help story creators (and readers) quickly locate related micro content with just a few
keywords typed into a search field.
Paul Miller (2005) argues that web 2.0 is a state of mind and not a technology. He explains vari-
ous aspects of web 2.0 such as freeing of data, flexibility to build virtual applications, participa-
tive, modular- specific components can be used to build applications. The application can be
used as components to build more applications. It is cost effective as a large number of individu-
als are serviced and is based on trust.
1.2 Social Networks
The rise of social networks has been one of the most important Web 2.0 applications in recent
years according to (Wellman, 2005). A social network can be defined as a social structure that has
nodes or points interlinked in a web like structure and connected by one or more specific types
of relations (Barnes, 1954). Examples of such relations are group works, financial exchanges,
kinship, friendship, trading relations, and professional associations, among others. Studies made
by (Arrow et al, 2000) and (Johnson and Ambrose, 2006) indicate that social networks perform
a host of important functions such as group formations, solve problems, determine the ways
companies are run and the extent to which people succeed in attaining their goals. In online so-
cial networks people create their own virtual space (or home page), on which they post pictures,
write blogs, share ideas, and link to other web locations which they find interesting. These peo-
ple are called social networkers as they tag the content that they post with keywords which have
been chosen by them. These keywords make their content searchable. These actions result in the
formation of a viable online community. Online groups and social networks are becoming in-
creasingly popular in the Web 2.0 era, and this is attributed to the growth of social networking
sites and communication/collaboration technologies. Online coherent groups tend to be created
within larger social networks. Social networks which may have hundreds of millions registered
members may comprise of hundreds of thousands of groups usually organized by categories. For
example, according to (Silver 2007),
“There are over 30 million members of the Cyber world community are organized in over 2,500 groups, called
clubs, in 27 different categories of interest (e.g., education, games) and one million sub clubs.” “Therefore, the
groups that individuals identify with can be thought of to correspond to sub-branches of this network, given a collec-
tion of individuals linked in an underlying social network. These groups are overlapping one another and continu-
ously growing in a potentially complex fashion.” (Linda.S.L.Lai et al, 2008, pp390-391).
4
The other most important growing aspect of social network has been the use of social networks
in marketing and communication particularly in the field of communication and advertising.
Companies are able to sustain and monitor their customer base and increase their sales through
the use of social networks. Unlike other modes of advertising social networks plays a very active
two way process of customer engagement. Companies are able to analyze customer psychology
in a much better manner. (Efthymios Constantinides and Stefan J Fountain, 2007) have exam-
ined the relevance and use of web 2.0 by companies in their marketing strategy. There paper
identifies the technological and commercial foundations of the new category of online applica-
tions commonly described as Web 2.0 or Social Media. A new channel of marketing referred to
as digital marketing gives to scope for companies to cultivate and harvest their target groups.
“Many companies are waking up to the potential of the interactive consumer market. Not only are the numbers of
users of on-line and Internet services soaring, but the majority of people who are subscribing to these services tend to
be young, well-educated, and richer than average. In short, they make particularly good marketing targets.
Interactive media is likely to revolutionize marketing for many consumer companies because it allows marketers to
deliver real-time, personalized services and content, one consumer at a time. It is what we call digital marketing.
Digital marketing leverages the unique and powerful characteristics of interactive media: it is addressable, meaning
that each user can be identified and targeted separately; it allows for two-way interaction; services can be tailored
for each individual customer; and purchases can be made and influenced on line. However, to capture the benefits of
digital marketing, companies must integrate interactive media into their existing businesses and marketing pro-
grams. And that is difficult to achieve.
Most consumer companies are struggling to know what to do and how. The old models of marketing simply do not
work in this new world, and as a result most of today's digital marketing applications are uninspiring (as anybody
who has ever been on the Internet can probably attest), falling far short of the potential of interactive media. Re-
search is being conducted to define a new marketing model that will help build and evaluate digital marketing ap-
plications.” (Alexa Kierzkowski, et al, 1996, pp 180-181)
According to Gunther Eysenbach, MD, MPH (2008) in her article on the role of social network-
ing in medicine indicates that Social networking is central to many Web 2.0 and Medicine 2.0 ap-
plications and involves the explicit modelling of connections between people, forming a complex
network of relations, which in turn enables and facilitates collaboration and collaborative filtering
processes. It enables users to see what their peers with a predefined relationship are doing. It se-
lects relevant information, enables reputation and trust management, accountability and quality
control, and fosters dissemination of information and applications. This aspect of “viral market-
ing” makes Web 2.0 applications so attractive to venture capitalists and public health practitio-
ners alike). Moreover, social networking is a potentially powerful tool to engage users, in that it
provides “social” incentives to enter, update, and manage personal information.
“Teenagers spend hours keeping their Face book profile current, constantly updating their status. Now imagine the
same generation of users turning their attention and energy to similar tools for health Will social networking be the
killer application that gets people interested in personal health records, motivates users to take responsibility for
their health and health information, and—more importantly—retain their interest over time.”
(Gunter Eysenbach, 2008,pp 3)
5
1.3 Enterprise 2.0
Enterprise 2.0 is new age social network that are used or in the process of being adopted by or-
ganizations to pursue its goals. Social software enables people to rendezvous, connect, or col-
laborate through computer-mediated communications and to form online communities. Plat-
forms are digital environments in which contributions and interactions are visible to everyone
and remain until the user deletes them. Enterprise 2.0 means that the software used for personal
interactions are now being adapted towards use in an enterprise. The difference between the per-
sonal social network and enterprise social network is that the mechanisms and structures are
more formal and regulated when compared with personal social networks. Freeform software
has many or all of the following characteristics: its use is optional; it does not predefine work-
flows; it is indifferent to formal hierarchies; and it accepts many types of data.
There are several benefits of using enterprise social networks. The tools helps people find infor-
mation and guidance quickly and reduce duplication of work. They open up opportunity for col-
laboration and innovation. This is an advantage because, as open source software advocate Erik
Raymond put it, “with enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow.” They harness collective intelligence and
the wisdom of crowds to obtain accurate answers to tough questions. They let people build,
maintain, and profit from large social networks. They allow executives to realize the dream of
creating an up-to-the-minute repository of everything an organization knows.
1.4 Problem
The challenge is to determine the exact contribution of these social network sites in business en-
terprises. Further it is necessary to develop parameters in assessing their contribution to the
growth of business. All the more it is necessary to change the cultural orientation of the employ-
ees to be more open with their contributions. It is known that many companies do not encour-
age open discussions and many employees fear negative repercussion if they express their opin-
ion. Also many feel that they may lose their edge if they share the knowledge and hence refrain
from contributing to the knowledge base of the company. (Yates et al. 2010, Andrew McAfee,
2009)
However the same problem can also create an excellent opportunity to study the result of such
an implementation. It is possible to study the impact on culture and productivity of the enter-
prise. For this it is essential to take a specific case and analyze it from different perspectives. It
would also present a good opportunity for other organizations to consider the research work and
decide on developing a social network website for them. The other aspect of the research is to
understand the use of enterprise social networks with respect to organizations. It is possible to
study the behavior of employees with respect to use of enterprise social networks which would
help in better design of enterprise social networks. There is a lot of knowledge that is been gen-
erated in such social networks. The earlier versions of knowledge management systems were too
complicated for employees to use. Hence Knowledge management was restricted to companies
in the domain of information technologies. Enterprise social networks paved the way for com-
panies in other domains to embrace networking and knowledge sharing among employees in all
6
departments. In other words an in depth knowledge of IT was not a prerequisite for employees
to learn the use of social networking tools. (Joan M. DiMicco, et.al 2009).
1.5 Perspective
The nature of the thesis is aimed at understanding the changing trends and how organizations
are trying to cope up with it. Web 2.0 has revolutionized the entire approach to the manner in
which business is conducted. It has also helped in the effective and efficient use of organizational
resources. The lifeline of any organization is employees and a lot of knowledge is generated on a
daily basis through work. Employees have information (subject knowledge) about their area of
specialization. They also gain real world experience through their work. When this real world ex-
perience is combined with their expertise on the subject then knowledge is generated.
The key here is to encourage employees to share this knowledge as most employees may hold
this knowledge within them as it may give them an edge over others and may not be willing to
share it. However the knowledge that is generated and shared has the potential to create major
transformations. Collaboration is another area where enterprises want to focus. By collaborating,
enterprises are able to obtain an external perspective and also find solutions to problems and
also create new products and services. The crucial part in collaboration is the need to have strong
patent and legal rules which would ensure the safety of the solutions, discoveries and return on
investments. It also helps the organization to network with other organizations. Organizations
across domains and fields can also use this collaboration to create new business models.
To be more specific collaboration between organizations is actually collaboration between em-
ployees within the branches of an organization or across organizations. By having a structure and
a method to the collaboration process a road map can be drawn which would help to achieve the
objective. One of the tools that would help organization achieve collaboration is an enterprise
social network. Facebook, twitter, linkedin, MySpace and Flickr are tools used more for fun, ex-
change of views and opinions. It is not possible for organizations to look these sites particularly
if it has to do with research. They would prefer to have a dedicated network with their own
IS/IT infrastructure which would give them the flexibility to scale the collaboration to any level.
This very nature of social networks and their ability change the business landscape has made us
to focus our thesis on the impact of social networks on the employees of the organization with
regard to knowledge sharing and collaboration.
1.6 Research Purpose
The purpose of this research, based on this argument, is to explore the role and impact of social
network in enabling knowledge collaboration and knowledge sharing practices between individ-
ual and groups within an organizational context. The research aims to
a) Develop an understanding of the ways might individuals and groups use social Network
to exchange and share knowledge.
7
b) Explore and examine factors that influence their use of social networking for knowledge
collaboration and sharing at the workplace.
Therefore, the vital of this thesis is to investigate and empirically examine the theoretical argu-
ments and understand how social networks and Web2.0 are used for knowledge collaboration
and sharing practices.
1.7 Research Question
The purpose of the research is to answer the key question of:
What is The Role of Enterprise Social Network within Industrial Organization to facilitate
knowledge sharing and collaboration?
The research and analysis will also answer the following sub questions:
1. How can the social networks encourage employees to collaborate and share knowledge?
2. How can the enterprise social network contribute towards collaboration and knowledge
sharing for the organization’s benefit?
1.8 Limitations of the Research
The limitations that may impede us from obtaining very clear results would depend on various
factors. It would first start with the organization and their culture. The sample size needed for
the research, the response and availability of people to answer the research questions. Also it is
necessary to obtain the right kind of sample to validate our research. These factors may either be
seen as limitations or challenges to our research.
1.9 Definitions
Concepts Definitions
Web 2.0
According to Tim.O.Reilly (2005) Web 2.0 is defined as the use of internet as a
platform to develop several business models and applications and increase inter-
action people through the internet. Web 2.0 or version 2 refers to the improve-
ments or makeover of the web to make it more users friendly and promote net-
works to harness the collective minds of the people.
Enterprise 2.0
The application of web 2.0 in enterprises is referred to as enterprise 2.0. The tools
that are designed and developed in the web 2.0 era for personal networking and
collaboration are being adopted to be used in enterprises. Hence this is called en-
terprise 2.0. (Andrew McAfee, 2009)
8
Social Network
A web 2.0 tool which is used to enhance and promote the development of per-
sonal networks over the web. Social network crosses boundaries and have in-
creasingly started to play a crucial role in every aspect of a user’s life. (O.Reilly,
2005)
Enterprise Social Network
A social network dedicated towards enterprises to promote exchange of knowl-edge within the enterprise as well as across enterprises is referred to as an enter-prise social network.
Collaboration It can be called as an act of cooperation among individuals and organizations in a professional context to achieve a common goal. (Tapscott and Williams,2006)
Knowledge sharing
The process of capturing and exchanging knowledge developed from a combina-tion of prior academic and work experience is called knowledge sharing. (Nonaka, 1991)
RSS Feeds
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a tool used to deliver continuously updated ac-tivities such as blog entries, audio, videos, and headlines etc onto a single site. The user is thus updated without the need to browse individual websites. ( S.Jeff Cold, 2006)
Wikinomics
The concept propounded by Tapscott & Williams (2006) describes the new economy where Consumers turn prosumers and innovation is not confined to the R&D department of the company. The four principles of peering, being open, sharing and acting globally can be defined as the pillars of open innovation.
Internalization
Internalization occurs when the user in any organization learns from the enter-prise where the organizational knowledge is acquired by individuals inside the en-terprises. (Nonaka,1991).
Externalization When the user shares organizational knowledge with others both inside and across the departments, it is called externalization (Nonaka, 1991)
Objectification
Only when shared knowledge is accepted by all members of the organization does it become objectified knowledge. Objectification is therefore getting new knowledge to be accepted globally. (Nonaka, 1991)
Stakeholder theory
The theory states for a organization to function effectively various stake holders play a very crucial role. The stake holders consist of people who are connected di-rectly as well as indirectly with the organization. It stays that any new technology or policy decision has a bearing on the various stake holders in the organization. (Thomas and Lee.E.Preston, 1995)
Group Dynamics Refers to the characteristics that come into play during the formation of groups in a social network. (Linda S. L. Lai and Efraim Turban(2008 )
9
2 Theoretical frame of reference
The theoretical framework would focus on existing literature, related to innovation, its collaborative nature and
factors influencing innovation in the organization. A section is also devoted to stake holder theory, its features and
tools and group formation and operation in the social network environment. This section is used to build a concep-
tual frame work which would give a specific direction to the thesis. In other words this section provides a road map
to the researchers to proceed in a specific direction. In writing the theoretical frame of reference the idea is to start
first start with the concept of open innovation which would serve as a strong premise for development and the ex-
pansion of social network 2.0.
2.1 Innovation:
Innovation is a combination of two worlds namely technology and business. When a change in-
volves only technology it is called invention. However as soon as the commercial aspect of busi-
ness enters the picture it becomes an innovation. (Schumpeter, 1934). There are two types of in-
novation models. The traditional method is called closed innovation while the new model is
called open innovation.
2.1.1 Closed Innovation:
Companies across various domains and fields considered R&D their vital strategic asset to keep
them abreast of the competition. Only large organizations with strong financial muscle were ca-
pable of setting up R&D departments and generate new innovations which translated into huge
profits. These organizations employed the best of human resources from university research labs
and other organizations. The philosophy was based on the fact that successful innovation re-
quires control. Companies must incubate their own ideas which they would develop, manufac-
ture, and market, distribute and service themselves. This is called the Closed Innovation Model.
(Chesbrough, 2003)
They could also attract employees of rival organizations to work for them. However the innova-
tion cycle in itself and the time period from innovation to market took a considerably long time.
As new organizations entered the market and started delivering innovative products and services
at lower cost and less time the large organizations were faced with a huge challenge to reduce the
innovation cycle time and time to market. This can be attributed to a concept known as open in-
novation (Chesbrough, 2003).
Figure 2: Closed Innovation Model by Chesbrough(2003)
10
2.1.2 Open Innovation
In open innovation organizations look at various methods by which the ideas generated inside
their R&D labs can be commercialized by bringing it outside through certain specific channels or
pathways. This would result in greater value for the organization and reduce time to market.
These vehicles or channels can be start up organizations, small and medium enterprises and li-
censing agreements with collaborating partners. Similarly innovative ideas generated outside the
firm by others could be brought inside for commercialization using similar channels. The bound-
ary between the firm and its external environment is a porous membrane enabling innovation to
flow between them without any obstruction. The open innovation model can be viewed as fol-
lows.
Figure 3: Open Innovation Model by Chesbrough, (2003)
The new concept of mass collaboration or open innovation is changing the way companies and
societies harness knowledge and capability to innovate and create value. This affects just about
every sector of society and every aspect of management. “A new kind of business is emerging one that
opens its doors to the world, co innovate with everyone (especially customers), shares resources that were previously
closely guarded, harnesses the power of mass collaboration, and behaves not as a multinational but as something
new: a truly global firm. These companies are driving important changes in their industries and rewriting many
rules of competition.” (Tapscott and Williams, 2006, pp 57).
The reason for bringing open innovation in the context of social network 2.0 is that open inno-
vation has been to a larger extent influenced by social network and web 2.0. Hence open innova-
tion and its four principles must be considered as an important concept in the frame of reference
The four concepts of open innovation are being open, peering, sharing and acting globally. Each
of these concepts are the pillars on which open innovation is built.
2.1.2.1 Being Open
Openness is one of the four pillars of Wikinomics according to (Tapscott and Williams, 2006).
Don Tapscott (2006) argues that organizations which are open to external ideas and human capi-
tal are likely to do better than those that rely solely on their internal competence. The word open
has a lot of positive attributes such as transparency, freedom, flexibility, engagement access asso-
ciated with it. According to Tapscott &Williams (2006), firms which had the traditional mode of
11
thinking believed that their valuable resources were a secret which gave them an edge over other
companies in the same domain. The concept of being open gives access to process and activities
outside the scope of the organization to achieve the strategic goals of the organization.
This can be seen as thinking out of the box. It is easier for people outside the organization to
generate these ideas and solutions as they inject fresh ideas in to the thinking process and as out-
siders they are not trapped in the same mind-set similar to those within the organization, and
therefore can view things from a different perspective.
Transparency is healthy for organizations and smart ones embrace it and try to be actively open
(Tapscott & William, 2006). Information technology plays a great role in fostering openness.
Through the internet and software applications, individuals are gaining unprecedented access to
market in-formation, and organizational resources.
2.1.2.2 Peering
Tapscott & William (2006) argue that throughout history, Hierarchical order of sustenance has
been the primary engine for wealth creation. These hierarchical orders organize people into
structures such as superiors and subordinates. There is a new organization structure called the
flat organization which is gradually distorting the lines between the hierarchical structures. This is
known as peering.
The idea of peering can be considered as an organizational cultural change which can systemati-
cally bring down barriers and promote cooperation. This is illustrated by the case of Linux plat-
form which began as a collaboration project. Self-organizing individuals working on the same
software code (which was initially published by one person) came up with a powerful and useful
software application which got very popular. Tapscott & William (2006) argue that peering lever-
ages self-organization. They further state that peering has its greatest impact in the production of
information related output.
2.1.2.3 Sharing
Sharing is the most important step that starts the action of open innovation. Being open and
peering according to, (Tapscott & Williams, 2006) are qualities that need to be imbibed and are
more of cultural factors. The authors further state that organizations cannot collaborate effec-
tively if all of their intellectual property is hidden. There has to be some sharing of knowledge
and intellectual capital. According to (Sotirios,et.al,2009) the results of their study indicated trust
to be a key factor in sharing and a determinant of participation in Web 2.0 platforms.
2.1.2.4 Acting Globally
The fourth principle of wikinomics is acting globally. Globalization as the term is defined has
opened up seemingly endless possibilities. As well as organizations don’t only have to think glob-
ally, but they also have to act globally. To succeed it is necessary to have the big picture of world
markets, technology and people. (Tapscott & Williams ,2006,pp 29) ”it pays to have global capabilities
12
- including truly global workforces, unified global processes, and a global IT platform to enhance collaboration
among all of the parts of the business as well as the company's web of external partners.”
2.2 Stakeholder theory
Stakeholders are groups with legitimate interests in procedural and other aspects of corporate ac-
tivity. Stakeholders are identified by their interests in the corporation which can be defined by
the extent to which they have contributed to the organization. It is measured in monetary terms
and can be correlated with the corporation’s functional interest in them. The interests of all
stakeholders are extremely important to the organization. Each group of stakeholders should be
considered for its own benefits and not because of its ability to further the interests of some
other group, such as shareowners. (Thomas.D & Lee. E. Preston, 1995).
The stakeholder theory deals with management in the broad sense. Apart from describing exist-
ing situations or predict cause-effect relationships it recommends attitudes, structures, and prac-
tices that, taken together, constitute stakeholder management. Stakeholder management requires
as its key attribute, simultaneous attention to the legitimate interests of all appropriate stake-
holders, both in the establishment of organizational structures and general policies and decision
making. This holds for anyone managing or affecting corporate policies, including professional
managers, shareowners, government, and others. Stakeholder theory does not presume that
managers are neither the only rightful locus of corporate control and governance nor the re-
quirement of simultaneous attention to stakeholder interests to resolve the long-standing prob-
lem of identifying stakeholders and evaluating their legitimate "stakes" in the corporation. The
theory does not imply that all stakeholders should be equally involved in all processes and deci-
sions.
In this research the stake holder theory is brought into the context to understand which stake
holder would be the most benefitted by enterprise social network. The reaction of the stake-
holders to the introduction of a new concept and a paradigm shift in policy change can also be
studied through the stakeholder theory. The theory also propounds the effect of introducing a
new technology on various stake holders.
13
Suppliers
Investors Political Groups Governments
Customers Firm
Trade Associations Employees Communities
Figure 4: Stakeholders connected to the firm (Thomas and Lee.E.Preston, 1995).
In our view, the three aspects of the stakeholder theory are nested within each other, as sug-
gested by the diagram. The external shell of the theory is its descriptive aspect; the theory pre-
sents and explains relationships that are observed in the external world. The theory's descriptive
accuracy is supported at the second level by its instrumental and predictive value which states
that if certain practices are carried out, then certain results will be obtained. The central core of
the theory is normative. The descriptive accuracy of the theory presumes the truth of the core
normative conception that managers and other agents act on behalf of the interest of all stake-
holders. Recognition of these ultimate moral values and obligations gives stakeholder manage-
ment its fundamental normative base
Figure 5: Three aspects of stakeholder theory: (Thomas and Lee.E.Preston, 1995).
14
2.2.1 Descriptive/Empirical
According to Donaldson and Preston, (1995), the theory is used to describe and sometimes ex-
plain specific corporate characteristics and behaviours. For example, stakeholder theory has been
used to describe “(a) the nature of the firm (Brenner & Cochran, 1991), (b) the way managers think about
managing (Brenner & Molander, 1977), (c) how board members think about the interests of corporate constituen-
cies (Wang & Dewhirst, 1992), and (d) how some corporations are actually managed (Clarkson, 1991; Halal,
1990; Kreiner & Bhambri, 1991).” Recourse (Donaldson and Preston, 1995, pp-70)
2.2.2 Instrumental
According to Donaldson and Preston (1995), in conjunction with descriptive/empirical data that
is available instrumental is used to identify the connections, or lack of connections, between
stakeholder management and the achievement of traditional corporate objectives (e.g., profitabil-
ity, growth). Many recent instrumental studies of corporate social responsibility, all of which
make explicit or implicit reference to stakeholder perspectives, use conventional statistical meth-
odologies (Aupperle, & Hatfield, 1985; Barton,& Sundaram, 1989; Cochran & Wood, 1984; Cor-
nell & Shapiro, 1987; McGuire, S & Schneeweis, 1988; Preston & Sapienza, 1990; Preston, Sapi-
enza, & Miller, 1991).
Other studies are based on direct observation and interviews (Kotter & Heskett, 1992; O'Toole,
1985). These studies suggest that adherence to stakeholder principles and practices achieve con-
ventional corporate performance objectives better than rival approaches. Kotter and Heskett
(1992) specifically observed that such highly successful companies such as Hewlett- Packard,
Wal-Mart, and Dayton Hudson-although very diverse in other ways share a stakeholder perspec-
tive. Kotter and Heskett (1992) wrote that almost all their managers care strongly about stake
holders such as customers, employees, stockholders, suppliers, etc.
2.2.3 Normative
The theory is used to interpret the function of the corporation, including the identification of
moral or philosophical guidelines for the operation and management of corporations. Normative
concerns dominated the classic stakeholder theory statements from the beginning. (Dodd,
1932).This tradition has been continued in the most recent versions (Carroll, 1989). Furthermore
(Donaldson and Preston ,1995,pp-72) state that “although both normative and instrumental analyses may
be "prescriptive" (i.e., they may express or imply more or less appropriate choices on the part of decision makers),
they rest on entirely different bases. An instrumental approach is essentially hypothetical; it says, in effect, "If you
want to achieve (avoid) results X, Y, or Z, then adopt (don't adopt) principles and practices A, B, or C." The
normative approach, in contrast, is not hypothetical but categorical; it says, in effect, "Do (Don't do) this because
it is the right (wrong) thing to do. Much of the stakeholder literature, including the contributions of both propo-
nents and critics, is clearly normative, although the fundamental normative principles involved are often unexam-
ined.”
15
All three types of theories are found in the work of Freeman, whom many regard as the leading
contributor to the stakeholder literature. In his original treatise, he asserted that changing events
created a descriptive fit for the theory. The separation of the owner-manager-employee required
a rethinking of the concept of control and private property as analyzed by Berle and Means
(1932). Similarly the emergence of numerous stakeholder groups and new strategic issues require
a rethinking of the traditional picture of the firm. Resource (Donaldson and Preston, 1995)
2.3 Summary of the Stakeholder theory
The stakeholder theory is "managerial" and recommends the attitudes, structures, and practices
taken together which constitute a stakeholder management philosophy. The theory goes beyond
the purely descriptive observation that "organizations have stake-holders" Furthermore, the no-
tion that stakeholder management contributes to successful economic performance, although
widely believed is insufficient to stand alone as a basis for the stake-holder theory. Indeed, the
most thoughtful analyses of why stakeholder management might be casually related to corporate
performance ultimately resort to normative arguments in support of their views. For these rea-
sons, it is believed that the ultimate justification for the stakeholder theory is to be found in its
normative base.
2.4 Group Dynamics
According to Linda S. L. Lai and Efraim Turban (2008), the socialization process in web 2.0 is
different from traditional Web 1.0 Internet groups. The process of socialization involves activ-
ity where people are shaped by the norm, culture, and value of the group with which they are
identified. The following represent values of Web 2.0 social groups according to (O’Reilly 2005,
Boyd 2006):
•Friendship—Many social network sites serve users with like minds and they form potential
friendships. Having friends is a critical signal of conveying the expected social boundaries. Al-
ternatively, people invite their existing friends to join the virtual groups.
•Democratic Participation—Web 2.0 social network sites leverage and encourage democratic
participation. People are in a position to reach out to the entire web. (Anderson 2006).
•Harnessing Collective Intelligence— The competitive advantage of Web 2.0 sites almost entirely
rests on the critical mass of participants. Therefore, the key to group dynamics is the network ef-
fects from user contributions (Surowiecki, 2004). Collective intelligence can also be defined as
the process of aggregating people’s thoughts.
•Viral Promotion—The Web 2.0 social network relies on promotion via word-of mouth. This is
done when users advertise a site, a service, activity, event, or a product by sharing others positive
experiences (Phelps et al. 2005).
16
•Innovation in Assembly— Integration of services provided by different individuals, Web 2.0
communities can create value. This is what Web 2.0 is all about-creating something new and
valuable (e.g., money lending).
•Pull but not Push— Pull systems let people bring to them the relationships and content that
they want. No external entity can force it upon them. In Web 2.0 social media, people and are in
control of the conversations.
•Cooperation, Collaboration, but no Control—Web 2.0 applications are built on a network of
cooperative data services. Therefore, there is no control on data use at the other ends of the
connection.
The above values and characteristics are demonstrated in one way or another in the following
five types of groups according to (Linda S. L. Lai and Efraim Turban , 2008)
a) Groups that Operate on Friendship and Participatory Democracy
b) Groups that Operate on Viral Supports and Shared Experiences
c) Groups that Operate on Peer Expectations and Appreciation
d) Groups that Capitalize on Synergy and Collective Intelligence
e) Groups that Support Person-to-Person Money Lending Via Negotiation
2.4.1 A Trust- based Group Dynamics in Web 2.0 Social Networks
According to Linda S. L. Lai and Efraim, Turban (2008) the different types of Web 2.0 sites
mentioned earlier have a common loyal user base which creates and changes social groups in
terms of various factors such as personal interaction, interest, whim, and the like. Most social
networking sites is open for all new entrants and they encourage group interaction. Groups can
be formed on criteria such as common interest searches, recommendations, word of mouth, or
by way of other groups. The question arises as how do such groups develop a sense of commu-
nity and how are these groups formed specially and the reason for their sustenance.
Coleman (1990) social theory may provide a framework for understanding group formation and
interaction at least in organization-based social networking sites, and the placement of trust in
individuals within groups. According to Coleman (1990), a social networking site is a “con-
structed social organization”. There is both a macro group, created by the corporate actor who
designed it, and then there is a collection of micro-groups formed by the users.
Linda S. L. Lai · Efraim Turban (2008)further state that trust is both a micro- and a macro-level
phenomenon in which there is an interplay among actors who decide to place trust in another ac-
tor or break someone else’s trust. There is likewise the transition that allows these actions to re-
form the system’s behavior, and the transition that allows the system to influence which actors
are considered trustworthy. The identity sharing involved in virtual group participation can be
seen as an expression of trust in the system (Stutzman, 2006). This is evident in the transmission
of personal data such as real name and address as well as information concerning political views,
sexual orientation, and the like with the social networking sites or the individual users of the
sites. Evidence from virtual social groups indicates that users can and actually tend to trust their
17
group members and even acquaintances with expertise, identity, personal information, even
money leading, and the like.
2.4.2 A Proposed Triad Relational Model of Social Life on the Internet
According to Linda S. L. Lai and Efraim, Turban (2008) the main reason for social networks to
be successful is that they are not too many rules (The Economist 2007). As it is open, online
crimes and intrusion into privacy are considerably less. The reason for this may partly be attrib-
uted to the human need for community and social connection: users want to be trusted and want
to build dependable networks (Lim et al. 2006).
A community is vital to the existence of online social networks and Web 2.0 technologies and its
tools. This is evident in Web 2.0 tools such as wikis and blogs which users can build communi-
ties into social networks and operate them as these have content which can attract the interest of
users who share the same point and would like to form groups to share, discuss and contribute.
For example, RSS feeds are embedded into social networks to deliver live and dynamic contents
while wikis are used to encourage collaborative interaction and information sharing. Blogs are
created around specific topics to facilitate exchange of opinions. The creation of social networks
is a major goal of Web 2.0 technologies. It has been said that humans are by nature social beings
(Hagel and Armstrong 1997). Online social networking has transformed the lives of many of
those who participate in virtual who participate in virtual groups on a frequent basis.
The process of communication, negotiation, and collaboration and content creation is supported
by innovative technologies, and it can be said that the rewards of Web 2.0 communities are
mainly social and cultural in nature. Community, akin to the need to belong and communicate
with trusted people about common issues and interests, is viewed as the reward of the whole sys-
tem (Blanchard and Markus 2004). This is because without its stronghold, there could be no con-
tinued progress and innovation. Every user has a specific click sequence, link, and motivation for
participating in these networks. Every user also receives a specific incentive such as friendship,
appreciation, knowledge sharing, democratic participation, financial support, collective creation,
and the chance to be a part of certain communities of interest.
Figure 6: A proposed Triad model of social life on the internet (Linda S. L. Lai and Efraim
Turban(2008 ) )
18
2.5 Knowledge sharing
Knowledge can often take two forms: implicit or explicit. The former is often hard to capture or
transfer from one subject to another; meanwhile, the latter is clear and can easily be acquired and
shared. The state of knowledge at any particular time (either implicit or explicit) depends on its
current mode of conversion. Knowledge can often take two forms: implicit or explicit. The for-
mer is often hard to capture or transfer from one subject to another; meanwhile, the latter is
clear and can easily be acquired and shared. The state of knowledge at any particular time (either
implicit or explicit) depends on its current mode of conversion.
Nonaka (1991) illustrates this with a knowledge conversion model which alternates between four
stages that include: Socialization, Externalization, combination and Internalization. As knowl-
edge goes through these various modes, it changes between implicit and explicit forms. Huysman
(2002) develops a very similar model which specifically describes the knowledge sharing cycle.
The model is depicted below.
Figure 7: The Knowledge Sharing Cycle by Huysman and Dirk de Wit (2002)
2.5.1 Internalization
Internalization is the process of learning from the organization. This occurs when an individual
acquires organizational knowledge. This happens when the individual joins the organization and
actually become members of the organization.
According to Huysman (2002), it is only through this process that one actually becomes an in-
sider. There are many ways of internalizing knowledge. Some of these include: knowledge sys-
tems, training sessions, manuals etc. Another way of supporting the internalization process is
through informal methods. There exist a large pool of unrecorded (tacit) knowledge and this is
referred to by Spender (1996) as collective knowledge. Telling stories and exchanging anecdotes
could be some ways of sharing this knowledge (Sims, 2000). Other scholars argue that letting
people work together helps in the learning process (Brown and Duguid, 1991, Gherardi, 1991).
They advocate for learning by actively participating. Resource (Sims, 2000)
19
2.5.2 Externalization
When individuals share knowledge with each other, this is known as externalization. As they
share this knowledge, they in turn create knowledge. Externalization takes place in various ways,
and these could either be formal or informal channels. Formal channels include meetings, pro-
ject. There can also be informal channels of communication such as chats which happen directly
as well as over the internet (Huysman, 2002).
Externalization is made possible through the use of IT based infrastructures such as Intranet ap-
plications, telephones, etc. Explicit knowledge can be externalized, but not all knowledge is ex-
plicit and there lies the challenge. Explicit knowledge can be communicated using a formal and
systematic language. Implicit knowledge on the other hand is not formal and therefore very per-
sonal. Therefore it is hard to share implicit knowledge otherwise known as tacit knowledge.
Nonaka and Takeuchi, (1995) state that implicit knowledge can obstruct the externalization
process which in turn leads to a poor learning processes.
Huysman and de Wit (2002) mention two reasons for externalizing knowledge. They are knowl-
edge exchange for the purpose of reuse and knowledge exchange for the benefit of developing
knowledge. They further state that knowledge reuse is a process that can be adapted. The knowl-
edge adaptation is done is such a way that the original knowledge remains the same. Knowledge
reuse can also be defined as the exchange of knowledge between two individuals. Knowledge
development and knowledge transfer are mutual.
2.5.3 Objectification
Exchanging knowledge does not mean that knowledge would be accepted readily. Shared knowl-
edge becomes organizational knowledge only when it’s accepted by members of the organiza-
tion. The process of objectification can take a considerable amount of time and can be a long
process. Von Krogh et al (2000) refer to the process of objectification as globalizing local knowl-
edge.
Huysman and de Wit (2002) illustrate objectification with an example that describes about a new
knowledge that has been generated by a group of technicians who have found a way to fix a
machine. The operational knowledge is confined to them until it is accepted by the organization
which decides to adopt it. The adaptation can be done in the form of manuals for training new
comers. Among all the knowledge sharing processes that have been discussed objectification
takes the longest time.
2.6 Blogs
A web sharing technology in web 2.0 is blogs. Blogs contain It is a web site that contains entries
that are dated in reverse chronological order with the recent one being the first about a particular
topic. It functions as an online journal. Blogs can be written by one person or by a group. En-
tries contain commentary and links to other web sites and images. It may contain a search facility
20
as well. Standard blog features include postings, archives of earlier posts and a web page contain-
ing the URLs of every post. This facilitates linking and organizing content within the same blog
and from other sites. Blogs provide a way of knowledge sharing, the can attract people who are
interested in reading and contributing towards a common topic of interest. (Maged N et al, 2006)
2.7 Forums Electronically based forums, bulletin boards and newsgroups all provide consumers with the
ability to share their experiences, opinions, and knowledge with others on specific topics. Hagel
and Armstrong (1997) suggest that the greatest information sharing potential on the Internet de-
pend on the development of these kinds of virtual communities, which provide consumers with
the ability to develop relationships, exchange information on specific topics, buy and sell prod-
ucts. Forums are very useful as a platform to share user experience. Generally forums are more
useful in B2C businesses where consumers would need prior information about a product or a
service before they purchase it. Forums are more genuine and better than seller generated market
information. It acts a system of counter check on the companies and enterprises to ensure that
they produce the best products adhering to stringent quality. (Barbara, Robert & M. Schindler,
2001)
2.8 RSS Really Simple syndication is a process by which all the links and websites visited by the user can
be aggregated in one single place. The most common way to access RSS feeds work with the
help of an aggregator a program which allow readers to subscribe to feeds, check for new con-
tent at different intervals, retrieve and display the content. The only major condition in using
RSS feed is the copyright issue. This must complied with by accepting the terms and conditions.
Another issue is that irrespective of the specific nature of the search, it is not possible to com-
pletely control the content which will be displayed. Hence user needs to use their discretion
while subscribing for RSS feeds (A.J.Cann, 2006).
2.9 Web Conferencing
Web conferencing is the process of having a live video, audio chat over the internet. The devel-
opment of web 2.0 tools combined with the advances in telecommunication has made it possible
to have live video conferences. The advances made in software to increase their compatibility
with features such as web conferencing has made it possible to have project discussion, collabo-
ration, knowledge sharing in real time. Implementation of web conferencing software is seen as a
major step forward in improving the study experience and providing graduates with skills de-
manded by future employers, for example, the ability to work effectively in teams and to be able
to communicate mathematical ideas in the workplace (Wood, 2007),(Shirley Reushle,2008)
2.10 Tagging
Tagging is one of the significant tools on the internet (McAfee, 2009). A tag was first defined by
Arthur et al., (2010) as transmission a piece of information a key-word that will guide you to find
21
it when needed later. Tagging essentially enables users to create subject headings for topics.
These tags serve as keywords by which topics are identified. Tagging ensures that searching can
be done quickly. The advantage of tagging is that the search and retrieval can be structured prop-
erly. (Jack M. Maness, 2006)
2.11 Generalizability --- Connecting the enterprise social network
with the concepts in the Frame of Reference:
The Concepts used in the frame of reference provide the foundation to build and enhance the
enterprise social network. Concepts such as open innovation and knowledge sharing determine
the purpose for which the social network is built. Social network cannot exist by itself without
human intervention and human activity. Therefore the human aspect is described by concepts
such as stakeholder theory and Group Dynamics. While the stakeholder theory classifies the
members who are connected with the organization, the group dynamics illustrates the character-
istics of group formation in the enterprise social networks. The connection between these main
concepts and the enterprise social network can be best illustrated by means of a diagram. In ad-
dition this can further be generalized for any kind of social networks.
Figure 8: Generalizability: Connecting the enterprise social network with the concepts used in
Frame of Reference by the Thesis Authors (2012).
22
3 Methodology
In this chapter we aim to clarify and describe the general approach in our research. The research methodology that
we intend to use in our thesis would be the case study approach. As well as we will discuss the diversity of research
approaches, techniques and strategies to support our research process, data collection and analyzing some of the
theoretical and empirical materials. Finally, we will describe the research quality and ethics.
3.1 Research Approach
There are two research approaches through which all the researchers develop their theories, they
are based on one or both of them. The deductive and inductive approaches, the difference be-
tween these approaches is that the induction is based more on empirical findings, while the de-
duction approach is based on logic and extracting the findings from the existing knowledge i.e.
Literature review and conclusions are drawn through logical reasoning (Ghauri & Grönhaug,
2005). In the inductive approach conclusions are drawn based on empirical observations and
provides a background to the findings; later on the theory based on data analysis is built as an
outcome. In the deductive approach the researchers build up hypothesis and examine that hy-
pothesis and finally those results are subject to be accepted or rejected (Ghauri & Grönhaug,
2005, Bryman & Bell, 2003) The deductive approach is more used in the quantitative research
type, while the inductive research approach is used often in the qualitative research approach.
However, there is a mixed approach which is called abductive approach which is a mixture of
deductive and inductive approaches (Ezzy, 2002).
The application of this approach in this research will allow the author to use the empirical find-
ings and theories without needing to reject any theory unless there will be contradiction between
them at different stages of the research. (Ezzy, 2002)
Figure 9: Research Process (modified after DeMast & Bergman, 2006)
DeMast and Bergman (2006) advised a theoretical model for abductive approach. The model
containing five phases, the first phase is the ‘Operationalization’, where in this phase we defined
the problem area and the problems been described as well as phenomenon. The second phase is
the ‘Exploration ’phase where the theories has been investigated to facilitate research theoretical
baseline (DeMast and Bergman, 2006).
23
The Third following phase is the ‘Elaboration’ phase, where in this phase all the forming of the
theoretical framework should be done with all theory exploration and practices.
The Fourth following phase is the ‘confirmation’ phase where the intention is to use it as a single
case study to illustrate the theoretical framework. Following the discussion phase the analysis and
discussion of the framework is done. The next phase is the fifth phase which is the conclusion
phase, it is the last phase in the model and all the outcomes are eligible to be used in real organi-
zations or in their researches.
3.2 Qualitative Research Method
According to Saunders et al. (2007) there are two types of research methods, qualitative and
quantitative. The difference between these different research methods obligates the researchers
to use both methods at the same time because each one of the methods has a different design
and based on a different structure. The quantitative research method the findings and results
based on statistical methods (Ghauri & Grönhaug, 2005).
The qualitative research method is not based on the statistical method. However, the qualitative
method collects data and information from the real life. Its sources are the people and it allows
researchers to contact others to collect their data and information which gives results based on
live evidence (Ghauri & Grönhaug, 2005).
The appropriate choice of the relevant method of research depends on the research character as
well as the research problem area and the purpose of the research (Janice M& L, Richards 2002).
In addition Janice M& L, Richards (2002) argue that choosing the qualitative research method
will provide a better and deep understanding of the phenomenon. The qualitative method is used
successfully in the social and organizations researches because the data and information are col-
lected through a real contact with situation.
This research focuses on the effect of the social media network especially one of the social media
tools which is the social network and the special usage of the social networking in an industrial
organization. In other words, the area which we are willing to focus on is the industrial organiza-
tion and according to our research question to understand the role of enterprise social network
within industrial organization, according to the collaboration and knowledge sharing perspec-
tives. The qualitative research method fits this research, though we choose case study as a re-
search strategy (Janice M& L, Richards 2002).
24
3.3 Research Strategy – Case Study
The research strategy that we intend to use in our research will be the case study approach.
Robson (2002) argued the research strategy can be a case study, which can improve a practical
study of an existing phenomenon. The case study approach would help our research attempt to
find the reasons on how and why certain practices are adapted in the organizations. It would also
provide us with the scope to develop a new concept. Our research is based on the area which
concentrates to the social networks, as a tool in web 2.0 and its impact on organizations with re-
spect to knowledge sharing and collaboration.
In this research a case study based approach would help us understand the impact of social net-
works on organizations. An evaluative purpose would be appropriate in this context as it can
suggests recommendations and changes that can be brought into the organization in order to
achieve certain objectives. According to Yen (1994) the case study strategy should answer the
how and why questions. In addition, there are two types of case studies as multiple case studies
that the researchers collect data and information from these companies which make the research
a bit complicate. The reason behind that is that different cases which definitely mean different
opinions that might affect the variety of the collected information. In other words, because of
there are differences in the research approach, and the method that we will use and with our fo-
cus on the quality than the quantity. However, in this research a single case study will provide us
with a deep understanding, and in our opinion it will be depth versus breadth. According to
Miles & Huberman (1994) while the researchers intend to conduct a single case study, we assume
that the quality of the research will be high based on the priority and high level of the selection
that the researchers do to choose the right and qualified case study to improve the research. We
believe the single case study suits our research, while we examine existing concepts in the re-
search (Yin, 2003).
We selected Scania AB to be our case study in order to the relevant of the organization profile as
an international organization and Scania AB has multi cultural work environment with more than
32000 employees in ten countries. The selection of Scania as our case study will help the authors
to develop a deep understanding to the role of the Enterprise Social Network within industrial
Organization which is the aim of our research and we consider the significant of the research
based on relevant of Organization profile. The head office of Scania AB is in Sweden, Södertälje
and the I.T department which is responsible for the all I.T operations is located there too.
3.4 Data Collection
The data sources are mainly divided into two segments, the primary data source and secondary
data source (Collis & Hussey, 2003). The primary data source includes the interviews and surveys
as a technique to collect data. The second segment is the secondary data resource such as all the
existing data that has been gathered before, for a specific reason (Collis & Hussey, 2003).
25
3.4.1 Primary Data
Data which are collected through interviews and surveys is defined as primary data. The primary
data is original sources because the data collected based on the research question and the re-
search problem which means it is not available in the secondary sources.
The quality in the primary data source is variable because it’s basically related to the knowledge
and willingness of the participants. However, the quality issue affects both segments of the pri-
mary data such as interviews and surveys.
3.4.1.1 Interview
Interview is the most effective technique to gather data and genuine information from the origi-
nal sources. Interview questions are naturally based on the research questions, which provide di-
rect information about the problems and the research situation (Ghauri & Grönhaug, 2005).
According to Yin (2003) interviews are a vital source to gather information and data especially
the researches that are based on case study. There are different types of Interviews. Face to face
interview, phone interview and via the advanced internet technologies such as Skype. Kvale
(1996) argue the face to face interviews are significant and the quality of interviews based on the
interaction between the participant and the researcher.
According to Ghauri & Grönhaug (2005) there are three different types of interview structures;
the structure interview, the unstructured interview and the semi-structured interview. The struc-
tured interview is designed to address a list of questions based on the research questions to the
participant/respondent and the interview profile and the outcomes would be without open dis-
cussion and will be restricted through the answers. The unstructured interview approach is the
opposite of the first approach, the questions in this approach is also based on the research ques-
tions; however the answers from the respondent would be an open discussion between the par-
ticipants /respondent and the researcher with focus on the research question. The semi-structure
interview approach is mixed from both the approaches. The semi-structure interview approach
provides efficient flexibility to interview participants via answers collected through open discus-
sion and explanatory of the question dimensions with focus on the questions and by answer
some of the interview question with direct answer that cover the question area. We believe the
semi-structure interview approach will fit our view of the interview structure and we consider us-
ing this structure provide efficient answers and will help us to use the time efficiently.
3.4.1.2 Right choice of Respondent
The right choice of respondent or respondents refers to the interviewee. The entire research the-
sis hinges on meeting, interviewing and recording the response from the right person. It is sig-
nificant to focus on employees who have experience and good knowledge and competence
within the subject area in the organization.( Ghauri & Gronhaug (2005).It is necessary to under-
stand that the interviewee with the proper knowledge and competency would do justice to the
case study research.
26
The authors in this research took great efforts to establish contact with the right respondent. It is
understandable that certain constraints are involved in fixing an interview with the right respon-
dent, but this is one aspect which should never be compromised with as it can make/break the
research. Mr. Jan Laestander was our respondent in our thesis research. He has an extensive
work experience in the field if Information systems. He is the group manager in charge of IT at
Scania AB and also holds the post of a recruitment specialist in Scania AB. The authors were
very fortunate to meet the correct person who could answer the questions from both the per-
spectives of a user as well as an IT expert.(Linkedin, Jan Laestander, 2012)
Interview type Date Respondent’s Name Purpose
Phone- Pilot inter-
view
March 23rd,2012. Recruitment specialist Knowledge sharing
Online April 4th, 2012. IT group manager Open innovation
Online April 11th, 2012 Recruitment Specialist Shareholder Theory
Direct Interview April 16th , 2012 IT group manager Enterprise Social Net-
work, Open Innovation
Table 1: Interview details
3.4.1.3 The relevance of interview questions
The interview questions have consequently been formulated such that a clear understanding of
the roles of enterprise social network tools in knowledge sharing within the organization can be
attained. The interview questions have been categorized into different themes.
The first category is that background questions. With these questions, we hope to establish the
overall goals and strategy of knowledge sharing and social media within Scania. This will help in
establishing the status quo of knowledge sharing and social media and the vision of the organiza-
tion. The next category of questions is designed to find out about the influence of social net-
works in open innovation and between the various stake holders at Scania. A good understand-
ing of this is needed as it is a big influencing factor on the degree to which social networks influ-
ence stake holders. Understanding the types of employee ties that exist within the organization
would help to understand the knowledge sharing needs of the employees.
Group Dynamics are also important to map throughout the organization because it would be
easier to analyze the impact of social networking in group formation and behaviour.. It should be
noted that closer social ties with colleagues throughout the organization creates greater opportu-
nities for collaboration and knowledge sharing. The next category of questions deals with col-
laboration issues. These questions will extract answers that are relevant to the role of social net-
work in collaboration efforts within the organization.
3.4.2 Secondary Data
The secondary data resource as we mentioned previously is existing data that been collected pre-
viously for another purpose. Secondary data is valuable to answer research question. Secondary
data is useful not only in finding information to answer research questions, but also to better
27
grasp and explain the research problem. It also helps to interpret and understand primary data.
Some of the research questions may be answered by using secondary data sources, then no new
data collections is needed (Ghauri & Gronhaug, 2005). However, secondary data sources may
provide data that has been collected for different purposes; therefore, it can partly correspond
to the main research purpose. That’s why it is more advised to use secondary data as the com-
plementary source of information for primary data.
Advantages of secondary data are that it saves time and resources. It also helps to better formu-
late and understand the research question; provide historical data; it can be also helpful in seg-
mentation and sampling of the target group etc. (Ghauri & Gronhaug, 2005).Other issue, related
to secondary data is the reliability of the secondary information. The authenticity and accuracy of
such information must be checked before using it. Responsibility of the credibility of secondary
information is held by the researchers themselves. We used different types of the secondary data
in our research and to be specific. One type of secondary data is collected from the employees
and organization internal reports, meetings reports and projects. The second type of data that we
collect from the data base that we have access in the university and to consider the quality of the
materials we use such as published articles, books etc.
3.5 Literature Review
Ghauri & Grönhaug (2005) argued that the major purposes of the literature review are to guide
the authors to originate their research questions and helps the authors to identify and clarify the
concepts, theories and the depth of their research field. As well as the literature review guides au-
thors to position their research in the field and to discover a knowledge gap to fill by the re-
search. In this research we have used literature in different published years some of them are up
to date and some have been published over years in order to generate deep understanding to our
subject over the years and how the concepts and theories were funded and developed. In addi-
tion some of the concepts in our research are new and there are not much written about it and
about its affect in the real life such as the concept of Enterprise 2.0, Web 2.0 and Enterprise So-
cial Network etc.
The literature we used in our research are books, articles, video presentation, conference reports
to understand the field of the research and the concepts and theories behind to generate the abil-
ity to consider the concepts and theories and their relations.
As we mentioned before that we used different literatures, with the massive of literature we get
access in Google scholar and other data bases we used through our university’s library website
and with the time considering we read through the document and collect the information’s with
the most relevant to the research and all the literatures we used are stated in references list to
contribute the quality and transparency of the research.
28
3.6 Data Analysis
Qualitative data is used in many fields such as anthropology, social science, business administra-
tion, medicine, anthropology, history and political science. However researchers in basic disci-
plines and applied fields have started preferring qualitative analysis over quantitative analysis.
Terminologies such as “ethnography, field methods, qualitative enquiry, participant observation, case study,
naturalist methods and responsive evaluation” according to L.M.Smith (1992b) can be identified with
qualitative data analysis.
3.6.1 Modes of Analysis
According to Micheal.D.Myers (1997) the analysis modes consists of Hermeneutics, semiotics,
narrative and metaphors. These three modes of analysis provide us with an approach to start
data research on qualitative data
3.6.1.1 Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics can be treated as a philosophy and a specific mode of analysis. (Bleicher, 1980).
In the philosophical approach it provides an understanding of interpretivism. Interpretivism can
be defined as access to reality trough social constructs such as language, consciousness and
shared meanings. As a mode of analysis it is used to analyze textual data. (Myers, 1997)
3.6.1.2 Semiotic
Semiotics deals with the meaning of signs and symbols in language. The essential idea is that
words and signs can be assigned to primary conceptual categories or parameters which represent
important aspects of the theory to be tested. The importance of an idea is revealed by the fre-
quency with which it appears in the text. (Myers, 1997)
One form of semiotics is "content analysis." Krippendorf (1980) defines content analysis as "a re-
search technique for making replicable and valid references from data to their contexts." The researcher
searches for structures and pattern regularities in the text and draws inference on the basis of
these regularities. The other two forms of semiotic analysis are conversation analysis and dis-
course analysis.
3.6.1.3 Narrative and Metaphor
Narrative is defined by the (Concise Oxford English Dictionary) as a "tale, story, recital of facts, espe-
cially story told in the first person." There are many kinds starting from an oral narration to historical
narration. The analysis mode followed by the authors of this research is narrative and metaphor.
The case study research method was executed using the narrative mode in the first person by the
respondent. (Myers, 1997)
29
3.6.2 Activities in Data Analysis
Data Analysis consists of three activities in concurrence. They are data reduction, data display
and conclusion drawing/verification.
3.6.2.1 Data Reduction
Data Reduction involves processes such as selecting, focusing, simplifying, abstracting and trans-
forming the data that appear in written up filed notes or transcriptions. Data reduction is done to
arrive at the crux or the heart of the analysis. It is a vital step that has to be carried out through-
out the process of data analysis. The authors of this research started data reduction by first ob-
taining answers to key questions followed by the next set of questions which would support the
main questions and the theories in the frame of reference. (Miles and Huberman, 1994)
3.6.2.2 Data Display
Data display describes the method by which data would be displayed. As the authors use a semi
structured descriptive case study approach, the data that would be displayed will be in the form
of question and answers that would validate the concepts decided in the frame of reference.
Considering the fact that narrative mode and case study approach have been adopted, it seems
logical that the analysis would be in the form of transcribes and the conclusion would answer the
research question (Miles and Huberman, 1994).
3.6.2.3 Conclusion Drawing and verification
The process of verification and conclusion starts during the data reduction phase as soon as the
authors start analyzing the kind of data that is needed to answer the research question. It is pos-
sible that two situations may occur. Either the conclusion can result in a new finding or it can
support the assumptions and validations made using the secondary data described in the litera-
ture review. The conclusion can also be a logical summation of the initial findings made at every
step (Miles and Huberman, 1994).
3.7 Research Quality
This section of the methodology explains the criteria needed for a proper research such as qual-
ity of research, such as validity, reliability and credibility of data (Shenton, 2004). The quality of
the research is determined by various factors both internal and external. (Lincoln & Guba,
1985). Trustworthiness in a research has different dimensions which can be explained by con-
cepts such as internal validity, external validity, reliability, and objectivity. Trustworthiness as a
concept cannot be restricted to these four criteria alone according to Lincoln and Guba (1985).
Guba & Lincoln (1985) propose a fifth criterion, “authenticity,” that research accounts must rep-
resent a consensus of what is considered true. The authors also suggest that authenticity can rep-
resent a range of realities or fairness that as far as possible must answer the question in the re-
search proposal. Lincoln and Guba (1985) state that the best technique for establishing credibil-
ity is through repeated checks and counter checks done by others. Seale (1999) states that wide
spread appeal of modern, constructivist and political conceptions of research is based on the dis-
30
satisfaction with the scientific world view. Quality does matter in qualitative research, but the
terms used such as validity and reliability no longer seem adequate to capture the range of issues
associated with quality. The constructivist critique of criteriology explains that quality does not
mean strict adherence to methodological rules but a set of guidelines which must be followed
along with prior knowledge of the thesis work. This would assist the researcher in generating a
good quality of research.
A major threat to quality is that the research must be done with the aim of fulfilling some phi-
losophical or a scheme of methodology. Lather (1993) argues that the quality of qualitative re-
search is enhanced if researchers engage in a philosophical and methodological debate. The re-
sult is that the pursuit of quality becomes an obsession as meth many researchers. The idea of a
self-critical research community acting together to produce knowledge for the benefit of others
is appeals to many researchers. The desire to participate in a shared language, constructing and
negotiating standards for judging quality, incorporating political and cultural differences, always
involves an act of trust in the judgments of others ensures that validity, authenticity and reliabil-
ity are followed through the course of doing the thesis research. This can also be ascertained by
the application of certain methodological procedures. These procedures can be executed as the
research community exists as a key audience for social researchers who are concerned about the
quality of their efforts (Seale, 1999). Techniques such as the peer auditing described by Lincoln
and Guba (1985,p 309) and acceptance of the researcher’s case can depend on the capacity of the
researcher to expose a critical readership to the judgments and methodological decisions made in
the course of a research study (Swanborn, 1996).
3.7.1 Triangulation- Qualitative Research
The authors of this research consider triangulation as a proper method to validate transcribe of
the interview conducted in Scania. Triangulation can be described as a set of techniques that
arose initially within a paradigm of realism. The idea of triangulation derives from discussions of
measurement validity Quantitative methodologist work on this with realistic and empiricist as-
sumptions.
Campbell and Fiske (1959) advocate a new concept of methodological triangulation which in
contrast to single operationalism , the prevailing concept in psychology. The process of triangu-
lation is implemented in qualitative research by repeatedly listening and transcribing the interview
done with the respondent involved in the case study research. Its use in qualitative research was
first advocated and then popularized by Denzin (1970) in different editions of the textbook
(1978, 1989) in which the original concept was modified. The three different transcribes of any
given interview would help in arriving at a holistic analysis which would answer the research
question.
“The triangulation procedure varies with the research problem. When gathering information on language acquisi-
tion in the home setting we left a tape recorder for about one hour during lunch. A transcription of the tape was
done by a typist who had been instructed to render a verbatim record. Then the transcript, the first version of this
scene, was read by the mother while she listened to the tape; her comments produced another version of the interac-
tion. The typist was next asked to listen again to the tape and to describe what she thought was “going on,” cor-
recting her original transcript as she deemed necessary. In this elaboration and correction a different version of the
31
scene was always produced. My phonetic transcription of the tapes created still another version. . . . The reader
could now say that we should have simply combined the different versions to produce the “best” one possible, but
the point is that different versions could have been produced indefinitely by simply hiring different typists and pro-
viding the mother with different transcripts.” (Cicourel, 1974, pp-124).
The authors of this research topic have conclude that in lieu if limitations and constraints, they
would use the best possible method and in this case triangulation to arrive at an analysis which
would answer the research question
3.8 Research Ethics
Research Ethics can consist of various factors such as the need to maintain integrity, honesty and
trust. It can also be the maintenance of anonymity, confidentiality and privacy as requested by
the respondent to the interview. It could also be that informed consent is necessary to obtain the
correct respondent and the right response. According to (L, M..Smith, 1991) that a clear dialogue
and renegotiation are needed to make a proper decision on the researcher-researched relation-
ship. Wax(1982) suggests that reciprocity is far more important than informed consent. Research
ethics must also be followed in the process of doing the research thesis. The authors of this re-
search have obtained prior consent from the respondent and have established a very transparent
and a reliable relationship with the respondent. The authors would submit the finding to the re-
spondent before publishing it (Miles and Huberman,1994).
32
4 Empirical Findings
This chapter contains the Empirical findings from our case study. It starts by introducing the company and the
motivation behind choosing it. Next we discuss the social networking tools and the features that are used from the
perspective of the company. We use excerpts from the interview to explain how every feature in the social network-
ing tool is used by the company. This chapter is combined with the concepts used in the theoretical frame of reference
to write the analysis.
4.1 The profile of Scania
According to Scania’s website (www.scania.com,2012) Scania was created in 1891. Scania is a
Latin word. It represents the southern part of Sweden; Skåne. It was created by merging two
companies Scania and Vabis. Scania is one of the top companies in the world that manufacturers
trucks and buses, industrial and Marine Engines. Unlike its competitors, Scania concentrates on
the heavy transport segment. Scania has built and delivered more than 1,400,000 trucks and
buses to serve the extensive need of customers. Scania has operations in 100 countries. Eleven
factories in five of the countries were involved in the manufacture of Scania number 1,000,000 in
the year 2000.
Figure 10: Scania Logo
Scania is represented worldwide by approximately 100 national distributors, who organise sales
and workshop services. More than 1500 service points around offer quality support to our cus-
tomers. In addition to sales and services, Scania also offers financial services on most markets.
Production facilities are found in Sweden, France, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Brazil and Ar-
gentina. (www.scania.com, 2012)
Scania operates in about 100 countries and has more than 35,500 employees. Of these, around
15,000 work with sales and services in Scania’s own subsidiaries around the world. About 12,300
people work at production units in seven countries and delivery centres in six emerging markets.
Research and development operations are concentrated in Södertälje, Sweden, and employ some
2,900 people. Scania’s Head Office is located in Södertälje, the workplace of most of the 5,300
people who perform administrative and other tasks. Scania’s corporate purchasing department in
33
Södertälje is supplemented by local procurement offices in Poland, the Czech Republic, the
United States, China and Russia.
“Scania’s identity is shaped by its customers and products – vehicles, services and financing – and by the people in
the company, their values and working methods. Three core values – Customer first, Respect for the individual and
Quality – tie the company together and form the basis of Scania’s culture, leadership and business success.”-
(www.scania.com, 2012)
Scania’s modular product system, with a limited number of main components, allows a high de-
gree of customisation, while keeping down the cost of product development and production as
well as parts management. Customizing each vehicle to specific needs gives the customer better
overall operating economy and profits. Scania would contribute to sustainable economic growth,
for the company, customers and society at large. As an industry leader in sustainable efforts,
Scania works together with governments, customers and organisations to provide reliable energy-
efficient products and solutions that increase customer efficiency and contribute to a more sus-
tainable society.
The Scania Production System (SPS) is a powerful instrument for increasing productivity and it
plays an important part in Scania’s success. With limited investments, the same number of em-
ployees at production units can build more vehicles. The employees are encouraged to find de-
viations. A deviation is a disturbance that prevents production from running optimally. By identi-
fying deviations it is also possible to do something about them. Employee dedication is crucial in
improving efficiency. Setting aside time to work with continuous improvements is part of every-
day operations in the production network. It means that large portions of Scania’s improvement
work have shifted from engineers to production personnel. (www.scania.com, 2012)
4.2 Motivation to Choose Scania
The motivation behind choosing Scania as our case study is totally related to our research, the
role of social network within industrial organization. The profile of Scania is a well known in in-
dustry of manufacturing of trucks and busses and engines for the heavy trucks with regards to all
the technologies they use and the environmental thinking in their products. Scania is the main
flag ship company and has four subsidiary companies such as dynamite, Infomate and two oth-
ers. Some of the largest companies in vehicles manufacture such as Volkswagen have a major
share in Scania which makes it a multi cultural organization and an international industrial or-
ganization. They have their manufacturing units across Europe in places such as in France,
Netherlands and Poland. As well in south America in Brazil. The researches done earlier by other
researchers dealt predominantly with IT and ITES organizations. We wanted to our research
with a manufacturing unit to know the impact of using social networks in research and develop-
ment and other departments of the company. It is quite a challenge for an organization which
does not have IT as its core competence to convince its employees to use an enterprise social
networking tools. Further this office of Scania at Södertälje is the main office and a successful
implementation and execution of social network would convince other branches across the
world in the use of social networking tools totally matches with the research criteria to improve
34
the role and the benefits of using enterprise social network within the organization across the
departments and with suppliers and customers around the globe and to improve the research
purpose and to answer the research questions.
4.3 Social Networking Tools Used in Scania
Scania uses social network tools to interact with the various departments and with customers.
They decided to incorporate social network component in their organization in order to coordi-
nate their efforts in an effective manner. Other branches of Scania across the world have also
adopted social networks to communicate and coordinate with the main branch at Södertälje.
Scania started first with Microsoft Lync. The advantage was real time interaction within groups
and departments across the world. The live interaction which they are able to have with their
customers has helped them to generate greater customer satisfaction as various specifications
needed for customization of the product can be discussed in real time with the customer.
The IT manager said that
“We use Microsoft lync very much. Communicating between each other, chatting, video, invite more than one per-
son, it’s more real-time of course...................... You don’t have a login with which you can post, its real time for-
tunately”
This means that the employees can interact and share files, edit files and collaborate on projects
online. This has to a larger extent reduced the need to convene special meetings. Editing a
document online in real time reduces the need to work on it separately at a later stage. Thus em-
ployees are able to save their precious time and use it efficiently. The other aspect is Lync is part
of the office suite package together with share point. This seamless integration with other Micro-
soft packages is a reason for lync to be adopted in social networks.
Yammer was adopted in summer 2011 so that the employees could obtain experience in using
social network. Also a good opinion about yammer did contribute to its adoption in Scania.
The IT manager said that “It was something that was used already by other companies, and it is a good solution,
I think. May be there are other solutions. But Yammer is quite known, it was quite early within enterprise social
network.”
The tools have features such as profiles, communities, blogs, bookmarks, activities, files and
groups. Microsoft lync is available as a package along with the office suite. These various fea-
tures of both the tools with their specific features are described below.
35
4.3.1 Microsoft Lync
Microsoft Lync Server provides instant messaging, voice and video calling, online meeting, and
application sharing capabilities that are integrated with the tools that information workers use
every day such as Microsoft Office and SharePoint. When working with a Word document in
SharePoint, the changes done by others can be seen in real time. It is possible to use Microsoft
Lync to start an audio or instant message conversation to discuss the changes done to the docu-
ment. The other important feature is that it is possible to see people’s presence in various office
applications, SharePoint, custom -developed applications. This is possible as Lync can be tagged
in any of the applications (office.microsoft.com, 2012).
The HR manager said that“........We use Microsoft lync very much. Communicating between each other, chatting,
video, invite more than one person, it’s more real time of course.”
As a Private Branch Exchange (PBX) replacement, Microsoft Lync Server can double as a phone
system to make phone calls directly from the Microsoft Lync client running on the desktop or
laptop. The traditional phone can be done away with. It is also possible to receive a call on what-
ever device a person is connected on irrespective of his location. Scania as in most companies
uses Microsoft office for their work hence this product is considered as a natural extension to
their array of existing software suites. The product Lync that comes from the stables of Micro-
soft integrates seamlessly with all other Microsoft applications. (office.microsoft.com, 2012)
Microsoft Lync Server also offers the flexibility of building customized communications solu-
tions on top of it. It has a Lync software development kit (SDK), which includes the Lync con-
trols that can be used to integrate Lync functionality such as presence and click - to - call into the
applications. The Lync SDK also includes the Lync API; a brand - new, managed API for build-
ing communications - enabled applications. The Unified Communications Managed API 3.0
(UCMA 3.0) and the Unified Communications Managed API 3.0 Workflow SDK (UCMA 3.0
Workflow SDK) are used to build server - side communications solutions such as automatic call
distributors, conferencing solutions, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems, and virtual per-
sonal assistants.(office.microsoft.com, 2012)
4.3.1.1 Collaboration using Lync
Lync adds value to the Microsoft applications that is used every day: Office and SharePoint. It
provides a unified communication and collaboration experience across Office and SharePoint,
providing the same way to start an instant message, audio call, or desktop sharing session with a
contact regardless of the application that is being used. The new Lync client) enables employees
to connect with each other within the organization and find people with the required skill sets
needed for a project. The Lync skills search queries users My Sites for skills which they have in-
dicated as their expertise. The other features include collaboration through whiteboard docu-
ments where the participants have great freedom to share text, drawing and graphical annota-
tions. Power point documents where the participants can control and see presentations and allow
36
everybody to add text, drawing and graphics. Polling lists where the presenters can organize polls
and all participants can vote and see results. Desktop sharing is done by allowing participants to
see and collaborate on each other’s windows screen. (office.microsoft.com, 2012).
Collaboration plays a very vital role in Scania which is one of the largest manufacturers of heavy
vehicles in the world. As collaboration happens across countries it is vital that the social network
tool has a very strong feature that supports collaboration. Sometimes two or more branches
across the world may need to collaborate with a customer to develop a new device or a product.
It is very important that these countries have a strong physical IT infrastructure in place in order
to encourage the use of tools that encourage collaboration.
The HR manager said that
“The main volume of people works here in Sodertalje. I also think Sao Paulo in brazil, Holland, France, where
we can those people. I think that the Brazilians are fast to adopt. We are quite a big department in Sao Paulo.
They are quite fast to adopt and used to social networking. But I think we cover most of the departments.”
4.3.1.2 Online Meetings
Lync provides a built - in conferencing solution that can be used to schedule and host online
meetings with contacts between inside and outside the organization. Online meetings can be cre-
ated by scheduling them in Outlook, or by selecting a list of contacts in Lync and starting an ad -
hoc meeting. For users outside the organization who don’t have the Lync client installed, the
Lync Web App, a successor to LiveMeeting enables them to join the online meeting and partici-
pate in the application sharing session. Attendees can dial in to a conference call, or have the
Lync Web App call them back on a number they provide. A new conference lobby experience al-
lows presenters and the meeting organizers to exercise more control over the online meeting by
notifying them when people outside the organization join the meeting and provides them with
the option of deciding whether or not to allow these visitors into the meeting (of-
fice.microsoft.com, 2012).
This feature of lync is very useful in Scania. Meetings are an important part of projects and this
feature ensures that meetings are conducted from the respective work stations without the ne-
cessity to separately convene one. This feature ensures that meetings are integrated into job.
The HR manager said that
“in real time, set meetings, I work here with recruitment, we do interview with external persons outside Scania. It’s
more real time. I have a meeting here and the document somewhere else, but I can access it. It’s more easy to use
and it is a known product installed in Scania.”
The IT manager said that
“........it is very easy, because it is heavily connected to Microsoft office. If you book a meeting in a calendar, online
meeting, click on a link and start the meeting.......”
37
4.3.1.3 Building Customised communication solution with Lync SDK (software
development kit)
The Lync 2010 SDK includes the Lync application programming interface that can be used to in-
tegrate functionality found in the Lync client directly into the applications. The Lync client pro-
vides a specific piece of functionality such as showing the presence of contacts, organizing con-
tacts into groups, and interacts with contacts by starting instant message or phone conversations.
The Lync controls separate the functionality in Lync clients into individual controls that devel-
opers can drag and drop into their Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) or Silverlight ap-
plications. (George, D. & Michael 2010)
The Lync controls include a control to show the presence of a contact; for example, the presence
of an account manager in a CRM system. Controls are also available to easily start an instant
message or audio conversation with that contact at the click of a button with no additional code
required. A set of other controls provides functionality for managing contact lists; for example to
integrate the user’s Lync contact list into an application. It is also possible to use custom contact
lists to create and display an ad - hoc list of contacts, such as the account team for a client in a
CRM application. Additional controls are available to search for contacts and display the results.
Controls are also available to set the current user’s presence, personal note, and location.
(George, D. & Michael 2010).
The customers are the most important part of any organization and in Scania the customers exist
all over the world. As the trucks and buses are highly customized for every individual customer,
constant coordination is necessary. The communication solution can be customized to the needs
of the customer depending on the country and their comforts.
The IT manager said that
“I think it is very positive, I don’t how many people use it, but it is within R&D, IT department. I have used it
for quite number of years since I am an IT guy., It’s very good for us as it is a big site, and our customers whom
we work for its is easy to reach them, can see if you are available or not, so we really like that tool.......”
The HR manager said that
“.......in real time, set meetings, I work here with recruitment, we do interview with external persons outside
Scania. It’s more real time. I have a meeting here and the document somewhere else, but I can access it. It’s more
easy to use and it is a known product installed in Scania”......... The comment is repeated as it relevant
to this feature.)
4.3.1.4 Adding Context to Conversations
The context of a conversation refers to the subject or topic of the conversation; the Lync API
provides some mechanisms for embedding context directly into a conversation, allowing the par-
ticipants to immediately know what a new conversation is about. A great example of adding con-
text to a conversation is the “Reply by IM” feature in Microsoft Outlook that allows you to re-
spond to an email message using Lync. The message recipient sees the subject of the original
email message in the incoming conversation notification window and as the title of the conversa-
tion window. When the person receives the instant message, she knows right away what you are
38
contacting her about. The Lync API introduces the concepts of Launch Link context and Lync
Extensibility Window context that you can use to enhance the communications capabilities of
your applications by embedding context into the conversations started by the application
(George D. & Michael 2010)
Adding context to a conversation is important as a new topic of discussion can bring in a lot of
expertise from people with former experience. The context of the conversation helps to decide
whether it is worth joining the conversation or not.
The IT manager said
“We have a document system where we can keep all information on projects and so on, have live meetings on lync
and interact, pick up documents during the course of meeting”- the comment is relevant to this part.
4.3.2 Yammer
Yammer is an enterprise social network service that was launched in September 2008. Yammer is
used for private communication within organizations or between organizational members and
designated groups, making it an example of enterprise social software. Yammer was originally
launched as an enterprise microblogging service and has evolved to become a full-fledged
enterprise social network.Access to a Yammer network is determined by a user's Internet do-
main, so only those with appropriate email addresses can join their respective networks.
The HR manager said
“What we use within the company is yammer , we started with yammer last summer, the key is more socializing
in the first place, when we started, than work related. To interact with other people, not just geographical. This
side of Sodertalje we have 11,000 persons working. The key is more socializing than may be work related. I don’t
think we do it very much. We publish things which we feel is interesting. If I have an interesting project in recruit-
ment, I can mention it within yammer so that everybody knows about it. To lift up and communicate regarding ar-
eas.”
Yammer was founded by David Sacks, the founder of genealogy site Geni. Yammer was
launched on stage at TechCrunch50. Yammer is considered to be an enterprise version of Twit-
ter. The difference between yammer and twitter is that while twitter is personal, Yammer is pro-
fessional. The product was initially designed for the company’s own purposes, but finding that
such a product would be a hit in the market. It was later diversified into a separate company.
The advantage is that co-workers can share status updates. The various features of the tool en-
courages the user to form groups with other co-workers, share files and other updates and also
know the most prominent person in the organization. The various features of Yammer are:
4.3.2.1 Profile
This is a directory of people in Scania. It includes information needed to form effective networks
across Scania. The profiles service stores fundamental contact information such as for expertise
and interest, tags, and also includes a personal section about the user.
39
This section gives a personal description about the employee in Scania. In the profiles service,
there is the ability to define friends in the employee‘s network. It is also possible to synchronize
personal profiles with corporate directories and human resource applications used in Scania. Pro-
files can be used to search Scania for skills and expertise. It can be used to build up a social net-
work of colleagues and track their latest posts. It is also possible to see Scania’s chart, networks,
the applications that are currently being used by the particular user, groups to which the user be-
longs as well as message and publisher settings. (yammer.com, 2012)
The profile section can be used to decide on the topic of discussion and decide on the employees
who need to be invited for a conversation. A discussion can be started on a new topic and peo-
ple can be invited based on their knowledge and skill sets on the topic.
4.3.2.2 Groups
The Group formation can be done within Scania as well as outside which means that Scania can
collaborate with other companies for research and development. The public or private settings
indicate the privileges that can be set for access rights. This service allows users to congregate
around a subject of interest. It provides online forums, discussion boards, shared bookmarks,
tags and news feeds. It is also possible to share files through this link and share information
across groups. Another important aspect is network formation in Scania. It is possible to form
networks to collaborate with people outside Scania. There is an option for the groups to interact
with specific groups or all groups in Scania. (Yammer.com, 2012)
The group formation is another important aspect of social network in Scania. The formation of
groups is based on communities with similar interest and skill sets. The group formation is also
based on the extent to which the social network is wide spread within Scania.
The HR manager said
“We have 11,000 persons working here in Sodertalje. The key is more socializing. We publish things which we
feel is interesting. If I have an interesting project in recruitment, I can mention it within yammer so that everybody
knows about it. To lift up and communicate regarding areas.”
“I think we have 1700 users in yammer. I don’t think you will reach one hundred percent ever, because you have
personnel working in production, in the market areas, atleast 50% of employees would use it.”
“We have users across all scania companies and even international across asia, America and other Scania
branches”
4.3.2.3 Files
The file section link consists of file types and information about files uploaded by other groups.
It is also possible to know the files that are being followed and files that have been uploaded by
various groups across the company. (Yammer.com, 2012)
The file section is further divided into all files, images, videos, documents. It is further divided
into official files and personal files. Files are further divided into sections such as recent files,
40
“files I follow” and “files I uploaded.” Files are further classified into files shared across entire
company or within specific groups.
The IT manager said
“Yes, but it depends on what you want to share. Strictly business within Scania, we don’t want anybody else to see
our projects
4.3.2.4 Micro Blogging
Micro blogging is a broadcast medium in the form of blogging. A micro blog differs from a tra-
ditional blog in that its content is typically smaller in both actual and aggregate file size. Micro
blogs in Scania allow users to exchange small elements of content such as short sentences, indi-
vidual images, or video links. Micro bloggers post about topics ranging from the simple topics to
serious. Commercial micro blogs also exist, to promote websites, services and/or products, and
to promote collaboration within Scania.
Micro blogging services offer features such as privacy settings, which allow users to control who
can read their micro blogs, or alternative ways of publishing entries besides the web-based inter-
face. These may include text messaging, instant messaging, E-mail, or digital audio.
(yammer.com, 2012)
The HR manager said
“Things you post are more close to your heart, it’s interesting, it’s your personal interest, but related to work. Peo-
ple say ”Have you seen this, it is very interesting and someone else can gain from this information .But I haven’t
seen anything serious like what should we do in this project, it’s more light information if you understand what I
mean.”
Other important features of Yammer that are used in Scania are:
Replies and threaded conversations
Tags, now known as Topics
Communities that are separate networks, allowing users to connect with people outside
of their organization
Events, polls, and questions applications
Robust direct messaging to multiple recipients
Status indicating online presence of a person
Sending and receiving messages via IM, SMS and Email
Twitter integration
Microsoft SharePoint integration
41
IPhone, iPod touch, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile clients
Security features like removing users who no longer work at the company, IP restrictions,
etc.
Network color and logo customization
Social bookmarking
A Restful API (uses OAuth for authentication)
SSL- Security protocol.
4.3.2.5 Subscribing to RSS feeds
RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog en-
tries, news headlines, audio, and video in a standardized format. An RSS document (which is
called a "feed", "web feed",or "channel") includes full or summarized text, plus metadata such as
publishing dates and authorship. Through Yammer it is possible to subscribe to fields and share
the RSS fields with other groups in Scania. The RSS reader checks the user's subscribed feeds
regularly for new work, downloads any updates that it finds, and provides a user interface to
monitor and read the feeds. RSS helps employees in Scania to avoid manually inspecting all of
the websites they are interested in, and instead subscribe to websites such that all new content is
pushed onto their browsers when it becomes available. The new content is then aggregated and
fed back to one location where users in Scania can conveniently stay abreast with all updates
from their favourite sites. RSS is being used by Scania internally for the potential growth of ef-
fective knowledge sharing. Also to foster the better achieved communication among peers to
enhance the operational performance. (Yammer.com,2012).
This aspect of RSS is used by employees, customers, suppliers in Scania. By understanding the
topics that are discussed in the RSS feeds, it is possible to understand the interest areas of the
employees and the customers. This would help Scania to identify new interesting areas in which
R&D can be pursued.
4.3.2.6 Twitter integration
It is possible to import Twitter updates into Yammer. After linking the Yammer and Twitter ac-
counts, any tweet that contains will be automatically imported into your Yammer network. The
advantage of twitter integration is that the existing groups and followers on Twitter can be linked
into Yammer. All the activities done using Twitter can now be managed with Yammer. (yam-
mer.com, 2012)
The HR manager said
“The interface it is very comfortable, pretty much like face book”, --- About yammer.
42
4.3.2.7 SharePoint integration
SharePoint is typically associated with web content management and document management sys-
tems. It is actually a much broader platform of web technologies, capable of being configured to
suit a wide range of solution areas. SharePoint is a natural extension to Microsoft products. As
most organizations use Microsoft office products, Share point is highly compatible with the rest
of the products. (yammer.com, 2012)
The IT manager said
“we use sharepoint, we don’t have any features like that, but it is very easy, because it is heavily connected to Mi-
crosoft office. If you book meeting, book a meeting in a calendar, online meeting, click on a link and start the
meeting.”
4.4 Security
Security has been a very important issue particularly in the internet era. Hackers have been able
to enter secured websites and access sensitive data or they have been able to corrupt all the data
that is stored on the systems. With governments and companies using massive data servers, ap-
plication servers and networks for their work security is very vital. To this extent new courses
such as ethical hacking have been created to test the strength and weakness of networks. Security
is an important aspect of social networks. In enterprise social networks it is all the more impor-
tant as companies are dealing with sensitive commercial secrets.
The IT manager said
“We keep it within the file structure of Scania and having information when you have documents stored internally,
which can be accessed only from inside scania.” ..........“We have an internal document system where we can keep
all information on projects”
In enterprise social networks companies need to be open to an extent to share their project de-
tails with their collaborating partners. This makes social networks all the more alluring for hack-
ers and nerds to either steal information or corrupt the data and application servers by planting
bugs in the networks. The other issue is about people connected with the data. It is vital that the
right kind of people are associated with the data as anyone who is morally corrupt and connected
within the organization can steal the data and sell it to the competitors for high monetary bene-
fits. Enterprise social networks must have monitoring systems in place in order to check the ac-
tivities of people having access to open innovation projects and also check the data flow.
The IT manager said
“The information is stored outside Scania, I don’t think we really trust this to have confidential information re-
garding our recent projects. If you look at it from an IT security perspective, I don’t think it can be allowed to be
used for critical information. I am not sure, we are a little bit afraid of using it for this purpose.”
43
“There is an example where we can use it. In lync we can invite external persons also. Then we can also open the
firewall for other companies that need to reach our documents, external partners, but it is very controlled. We have
a VTS solution, where I can go home and access the Scania systems and my computer at Scania. You login with
your computer and access Scania server, using pin codes, one time pin codes.”
Scania uses Microsoft lync and Yammer for social networking within the organization. Our em-
pirical findings suggest that security happened to be a very predominant aspect in expanding the
use of social networks within organizations. To this extent Scania has their Lync server within
the organization. The combination of a Microsoft suite and the presence of the server inside
have made Lync the most popular choice of an enterprise social network within the organization
when compared with yammer where the server is outside the organization and not within Scania.
Scania has an extensive firewall system in place in order to prevent intrusion. When contractors,
subsidiaries and other external partners need to connect and coordinate with Scania, the firewalls
are let down temporarily for them to access the files. The firewalls are up after the work is done.
In addition to this Scania uses their own internal document system for storing files on projects
and sharing it among employees both within and outside the organization.
The IT manager said
“Microsoft lync is it is used within Scania, no one else will get an access. They have to go through our 20 fire
walls, so I think this is an issue to use it more businesswise.”
“Yes, but it depends on what you want to share, we don’t want anybody else to see our projects”
44
5 Discussions and Analysis
In this chapter the aim of the author is to analyze the information collected during our research and answer our re-
search question. The authors combine the theoretical frame of reference along with the empirical findings to present
the analysis. This would be done by supporting the theoretical frame of reference with the findings from the empiri-
cal study. In the course of writing the analysis the authors would be able to discuss the real impact of social net-
works in the organization and the need for the enterprise to evolve and accept social network as an integral part of
the organization.
5.1 Open Innovation
The new concept of mass collaboration is changing the way companies and societies harness
knowledge and capability to innovate and create value. This affects just about every sector of so-
ciety and every aspect of management. (Tapscott and Williams, 2006) suggest that the concept of
boundaries is fast disappearing and that companies need to take the R&D outside by asking peo-
ple across the world to participate in the development process.
The authors feel that this process is facilitated by the use of social networking tools within the
organization. The level of innovation is decided by the extent to which these social networking
tools have proliferated among the various departments in the organization. The analysis can fur-
ther be done on the four concepts namely peering, sharing, acting globally and being open. The
various features present in the tool contribute to collaboration in different ways.
5.1.1 Being Open
Openness or being open can be described as a quality which needs to be pursued. It can be de-
scribed as a cultural change that needs to be imbibed in the organization. (Tapscott and Williams
2006). The analysis is that openness or being open can vary on the organization and the nature
of business. The degree of openness depends on the project and the kind of information that is
shared in the organization.
Scania as an organization is increasing their level of openness. The features in Lync and Yammer
such as online meetings, groups, profiles, files facilitate coordination with various stakeholders.
Discretion is exercised to control the access of project documents in Scania. This is done to en-
sure information and knowledge security. These tools also have features by which the status of
every stakeholder like employee, supplier and customer is known. Smart phones and hence the
users are not restricted to their work stations. Lync and Yammer which have such features play a
vital role to bring the open culture in the organization.
5.1.2 Peering
Peering is the process by which members in an organization as well as across organizations and
geographies can interact with each other without any inhibition. Peering creates confidence and
trust among various partners which in turn contributes to exchange of information. The use of
45
social networking tool greatly helps in reducing the hierarchical gap among employees and par-
ticipants in Scania.
The features such as web conferencing, document edition in real time, profile and groups influ-
ence peering to a large extent. Peering can also occur between customers and the innovation
partners. This can reduce the gap between them and increase the rate of innovation. Peering can
also be achieved by integration across social networks.
5.1.3 Sharing
The actual act of transferring knowledge and intellectual capital occurs in sharing. Sharing is
done by creating intellectual property rights and licensing the idea to external partners. Social
networking tools have features which enable sharing. Lync has features such as whiteboards,
charts, video and audio to share ideas depending on the type of idea. Yammer has features to
share images, video and graphics. It is also possible to decide the extent which sharing access can
be given using options such as specific groups or entire organizations. Sharing access can also be
decided among the various external partners in the organization. Links in web 2.0 are very crucial
for accessing and quickly sharing the right resources.
Tags and book marks are used to share important and relevant material among employees. Book-
marks aggregate links to important resources and material and can be easily shared with col-
leagues. Blogs and RSS contain information about the personal and professional interests of
employees. These blogs and RSS can be accessed through features such as groups and files.
Pod casts are audio recordings of key events, concepts that exist as a link. Users can subscribe to
these podcasts using RSS. Webinar are seminars done on the web. Any user who wants to par-
ticipate has to log on to the webinar at a given date and time. These webinars have live audio and
video feed which enable users to gain knowledge. Users can contribute by participating in these
webinars. The most important advantage of using Lync and Yammer is the ability to share
knowledge across time and boundaries. Business related travel has been greatly reduced and pre-
cious time is available to pursue other activities.
5.1.4 Acting Globally
As organizations, collaborating partners and customers spread across the globe, this concept is
defining the actions of all the partners. It is also very important to understand the cultural aspect
of the collaborating partners. This is facilitated by features such as web conferencing and online
meetings which are in the social networking tools.
Scania is spread across Asia, America and Europe. One of the biggest departments is in Sao
Paulo, Brazil which is on par with the main branch at Södertälje when it comes to using social
networks. The other point is that different countries across the world have different levels of IT
infrastructure based on the level of infrastructure development in the country.
46
5.2 Stake Holder Theory
Stake holder refers to a person or a group which has invested in an organization. The investment
may be in the form of skills, products, monetary investments, economic and political and other
kinds of interest. The firm acts as a catalyst to serve the interest of various stake holders. The
concept of a firm or organization would cease to exist without any stakeholders. There would be
no reason for a firm and its infrastructure to exist but for the stakeholders.
Similarly stakeholders play a vital role in the use of social networks. The authors can assert the
fact that the design of social networks has been influenced by the various stake holders. It is pos-
sible to have an order of precedence to know which stake holder has been the most benefitted
by the social networking tools. According to T. Donaldson and Preston (1995) the stake holder
theory has three different characteristics. It can be descriptive, Instrumental and Normative.
The authors want to analyze the influence of social networking tools on the three aspects of the
stake holder theory being descriptive, normative and instrumental. The analysis deals with the in-
fluence of social network tools on all the three aspects.
5.2.1 Descriptive
The descriptive nature of the stakeholder theory explains corporate characteristics and behaviors.
The descriptive aspect of stakeholder theory reflects and explains past, present, and future states
of affairs of corporations and their stakeholders. The use of social networking tools such as Lync
and yammer has influenced the working of Scania. The effects of globalization and the concept
of open innovation have changed the working nature of the stake holders in Scania. These tools
have brought the employees and top management closer to each other. Management is also able
to measure the productivity and knowledge contribution of employees through social networks.
Customers, employees, suppliers and management of Scania play an active role to ensure that the
correct product is delivered. The behaviors of corporations have also changed. Transparency and
accountability are enforced through the use of social networks. Corporations need to be very
careful in dealing with sensitive issues related with the stake holders. The descriptive nature of
the stake holder theory can be explained by the features of the tools such as profiles, groups,
blogs and the various interesting topics that are discussed on the social networking site.
5.2.2 Instrumental
The instrumental nature of stake holder theory establishes a framework to examine the connec-
tion between stake holders and the achievement of corporate goals. The instrumental theory ex-
plains the cause and effect and relationship. According to Donald and Preston (1995) consider
this phenomenon to be implicit. The social networking tools such as Lync and yammer used in
Scania have a direct implication on the corporate performance of the organization. In the first
place the introduction of these tools has reduced the cost of knowledge transaction and trans-
formation to a minimum. Secondly valuable time is available which can be dedicated to other ac-
tivities.
47
The tools such as blogs, RSS, pod casts, Web conferencing, meetings, profiles, groups, files
shared between groups and individuals connect the various stakeholders. Any activities in these
features have a direct bearing on the stakeholders and the achievement of corporate goals. The
Connection between stakeholders involved in production (customers, external partners such as
subcontractors, employees) is strengthened using Lync and Yammer. The influence of other
stakeholders such as political groups and governments through social networks ensures that the
organization works in a ethical manner.
5.2.3 Normative
The normative theory states that stakeholders are persons with substantive interests in the cor-
poration and they are identified by their interest in the corporation. It also states that various
stake holders act to further their interest and derive benefits from the corporation. The theory is
used to interpret the functioning of an organization.
The features present in social networking tools such as Lync and yammer provide enough proof
to establish that stake holder theory is normative. Although the argument is that employees and
management work to serve the interest of customers and share holders, knowledge and informa-
tion sharing happens due to the initiative of the employees to further their own interest. The
other incentive for doing this is to be recognized by the company workforce. The Sao Paulo
branch of Scania is very active in the social networking as they are recognized by the main
branch at Sodertalje.
Customers would like to be connected with Scania in real time to know the status of the devel-
opment on their orders and suggest changes. This would ensure that customization occurs at a
rapid rate. The other reason is that as business environments are dynamic such social networking
tools help the customers to discuss important issues quickly and accurately.
Lync and yammer also ensures that organizations comply with the legal, ethical and moral values.
Corporate governance and IT governance can also be efficiently enforced through these social
networks. Thus the interests of other stake holders such as governments, political groups and as-
sociations use served.
5.2.4 Managerial
The managerial aspect of stake holder theory recommends the establishment of structures, crea-
tion of new organizational policies and decision making. The tools such as lync and yammer
have features such as groups, profiles and files to control access. Thus the profile of the person,
the group to which the user belongs decides the information that can be shared. The HR
department in Scania had introduced a new policy with regard to recruitment and Yammer was
used to inform all the employees about this policy. Thus the managerial aspect of stake holder
theory is established by the use of enterprise social networking tool such as Lync and Yammer.
48
5.3 Group Dynamics
The concept of group dynamics deals with the formation of groups and the characteristics that
define the formations of these groups. In using enterprise social network the authors of this re-
search analyze the formation of groups in a work environment. The formation of groups in a
work environment can be divided into various categories based on the social, cultural and psy-
chological aspect of all the stakeholders.
5.3.1 Group formation on Peer Expectation and Appreciation
In an enterprise the activities can be divided on three levels. The top management decides the
strategy while the middle management decides on the tactics and the operations are executed by
the juniors. Peer expectation can occur at all the three levels. This is possible through the use of
features such as groups, profiles. The files can be shared among these groups by allocating access
rights. It is also possible that these levels are connected with their external partners the same lev-
els.
In yammer it is possible to form internal and external groups that can correspond to peers inside
the organization and outside the organization. Likewise the lync app can be installed on external
systems to facilitate collaboration with external partners. Scania is connected with its customer at
various levels. The advantage of such connectivity is that any challenges can be solved smoothly.
Mutual regard and praise for each other’s work can help strengthen bonds.
The formation of a good relation among employees in any enterprise especially in Scania is very
critical. The Strategy and tactics may be decided by the top and middle management, but the
execution is done by the operations team. Similarly peer to peer connections with external part-
ners help in efficient execution of projects.
5.3.2 Group formations that capitalize on synergy and collective intelli-
gence
Apart from peer to peer networks it is possible to form networks and communities across hier-
archies. As Tapscott and Williams (2006) had discussed that open innovation is forcing organiza-
tions to have more flat structure. Enterprise social networks are the catalyst of change in the or-
ganizational social structure as in Scania.
Synergy is a combination of two or more strengths to produce a result that cannot be achieved
independently by either of them. The enterprise social networks such as Yammer and Lync facili-
tate synergy between teams in Scania to deliver results. The features in them such as blogs, RSS,
webminars, real time meetings and web conference help to harness the synergy among the
groups and other collaborating partners in Scania by sharing experience and expertise.
Collective intelligence also referred to as the wisdom of crowds According to Surowiecki (2004),
large groups of people are frequently smarter than an elite few, they may be better at solving
problems and fostering innovation. The authors wish to reiterate that collective intelligence dif-
49
fers from synergy in the perspective of creativity. Synergy may occur on an everyday basis but an
innovation or invention may not proceed at that pace. Collective intelligence refers to the pool-
ing of all the connected minds to create a new product or service.
One of the most important aspects of enterprise social networks is the ability to create long last-
ing relationships amongst stakeholders especially employees. Before the advent of enterprise so-
cial networks the loss of an important employee was crucial to an organization. Now with these
networks it is still possible to be connected with those employees and derive benefit from them.
5.3.3 Group Dynamics and Role of HR in Enterprise Social Network
The Human resources department in any organization is always interested in knowing the em-
ployee morale, psychology and behaviour in the workplace. Before social networks they had to
call the employee and conduct all kinds of psychometric tests. These tests results were obtained
in a controlled environment. Now with tools such as Yammer and Lync it is possible to gauge
the psychology and also measure their productivity and knowledge contribution. Many invisible
barriers are broken with these social networks. It also helps the HR to design growth plans to
suit the individual need of the employees. The use of email as a system of communication is very
cumbersome and it is on the verge of being outdated. Group communications can be done
quickly without any hassles.
Influence of enterprise social network in other departments Lync and Yammer have a huge role
on other departments such as research and development, engineering and marketing in Scania.
Users share their experience on projects and account teams are able to get a better understanding
of the customer needs and develop better customer relationship management methods. These
tools have increased the pace of research and development to create new products.
5.3.4 Trust-- an important factor in Group Dynamics
According to Coleman(1990) Trust is both a micro- and a macro-level phenomenon in which
there is an inter play within stake holders The action of employees and other stake holders re-
form the usage pattern of enterprise social network. As the use of enterprise social networks
such as Lync, Yammer increases trust worthiness would be an important factor to be determined
among employees and other innovation partners both inside and outside the organization.
50
5.4 Knowledge sharing using enterprise social network
One of the most important purposes of using enterprise is to promote knowledge sharing among
employees. Knowledge can be implicit or explicit. Implicit knowledge is not visible while explicit
knowledge is available. Implicit knowledge exists within human minds. The challenge is to find
out the right method to capture such knowledge and store it in a usable and transferable form.
The state of knowledge at any time depends on the mode of conversion. Nonaka (1991) suggests
a knowledge conversion model which consists of four steps namely internalization, externaliza-
tion, combination and socialization. Enterprise social network tools play an important role in
each of the steps to aid a seamless knowledge conversion process.
5.4.1 Internalization
Internalization is the process of learning from the organization. Lync and Yammer have features
such as files which can act as repositories of knowledge. In a majority of cases internalization oc-
curs during training sessions for a new employee or for a new project. In the past the training
sessions had a lot of personnel or trainers. As a result organizations incurred huge training costs.
Now with social networks features such as pod casts and video casts ensure that this training
program can be recorded and used by the employees many times. It is possible to reduce training
to an extent where individual attention is required. Another possibility is the use of features such
as real time meetings and web conferencing to conduct training without the need for a dedicated
infrastructure such as classrooms.
5.4.2 Externalization
Externalization is defined as the process which results in knowledge sharing. Generally externali-
zation is transfer of knowledge which has been further refined by adding additional knowledge
or changing the existing knowledge that is present. In enterprises knowledge is a combination of
an individual’s academic learning and their work experience. Features such as blogs, RSS, files,
webminars, web conferencing. Other features such as posts also promote externalization. The
externalization can occur via both audio and video. The other advantage is that knowledge shar-
ing can occur in groups. Unlike formal classrooms where such a process can lead to confusion,
the features present in social networks facilitate group wise sharing of knowledge. External col-
laborating partners such as customers and members from other organizations can take part in
this knowledge sharing process.
5.4.3 Objectification
Objectification is the process by which knowledge shared is accepted in the organization. It can
also be called as the standardization of a body of knowledge. This results in the knowledge being
adopted for further use in the organization. When a certain boy of knowledge is used repeatedly
within the organization and the use of it results in consistent benefits, the knowledge is accepted
within the organization. Objectification is a long drawn process as the knowledge needs to be
tested repeatedly before it is accepted. Yammer and Lync have options such as Podcasts, RSS,
blogs are certain features which can promote knowledge objectification. When knowledge stored
using one of the features results in consistent benefits, the organization adopts it as a process.
51
5.5 Knowledge management system and Enterprise Social Net-
work
Knowledge management systems are software that was developed to create and share knowledge
within the organization. However one major drawback was the lack of compatibility and the ac-
cess controls. These Knowledge management systems were also internal and secluded. They did
not allow external partners to access and share knowledge.
The enterprise social network such as yammer and Lync are in the process of replacing these
knowledge management systems. The advantage with yammer and lync is their easy to learn fea-
tures unlike the cumbersome features in knowledge management systems. This alleviates the
troubles of people who are not very adept at IT but want to create and share knowledge that
they had acquired over a period of time. Thus enterprise social networks are in the process of
replacing complicated knowledge management software.
52
6 Conclusions
This chapter starts with the conclusion. It contains a summary of the points discussed in the analysis chapter and
explains how the research questions were answered through the analysis. The subsequent section on reflections ex-
plains the thoughts behind selecting this topic for research and the challenges encountered during the research. The
last subsection suggests recommendation to pursue further research in the same field and other areas associated with
this field.
The main purpose of the research was to explore the impact of social network in Industrial or-
ganization. While the previous research done in this field focussed on web 2.0 and enterprise 2.0
in a holistic perspective, the authors in this case decided to examine on single aspect i.e. social
networks in depth. The development and use of social networks was predominantly confined to
enterprises in the IT domain. Hence the authors of this research wanted to understand how in-
dustries in the manufacturing sector used enterprise social networks. This is because of the na-
ture of the organization and the skill sets of employees. The impact was studied by trying to ex-
amine factors that influenced the use of social networks in knowledge collaboration and knowl-
edge sharing between individual and groups within an Industrial organization especially Scania.
The research methodology of a case study research and the concepts used in the theoretical
frame of reference provided the route for the research. Theories such as collaboration, open in-
novation, group dynamics, stake holder theory and knowledge sharing were used as parameters
to study the impact of social networks. The research question was answered by a combination of
the case study on Scania and the frame of reference.
The authors could find out several interesting developments during the course of research. An
industrial organization takes more time to understand the benefits of social networks compared
with an IT organization. The size of the organization and its market share influence the use of
social networks. Scania is one of the largest companies in the world and manufacturer of trucks
and buses. Any new development which deals with sensitive areas such as knowledge sharing is
treated with certain degree of circumspect as confidentiality is crucial. However with collabora-
tion becoming a necessity than a luxury to keep with the increasing pace of innovation, the com-
pany has started allowing its partners to access files.
In a large multinational industrial organization with branches across the world, certain branches
are fast to embrace social networks. This is evident for the fact that the Sao Paulo branch is close
to the main branch at Sodertalje. Another finding is that with every passing year the organization
is increasing its use of social networks in its operations and finding out new ways to use it effi-
ciently.
At the beginning the usage pattern of the employee tends to mirror personal networks such as
face book, twitter, however over a period of time it gradually changes and the enterprise social
network is used for professional purpose. The enterprise social network has also proved to be-
come a tool by which the productivity of employees can be measured. It is also seen that many
invisible barriers are broken down as interaction between the different levels of management and
the external stakeholders and partners.
53
The authors have also been able to analyze the impact of social networks on knowledge sharing.
The present features existing in social networks are found to be simple enough to encourage
employees to share knowledge than the complex knowledge management systems.
The authors have also found that security as an issue is one gaping issue in social networks espe-
cially in enterprise social networks. This has been cited as one of the reasons why certain social
networking tools are preferred over others. Large industrial organizations such as Scania fell
comfortable if their servers are in their control.
Overall the authors have found that enterprise social networks have a profound impact on indus-
trial organizations which is very positive and increasing every day. If the security of these enter-
prise social networks can be improved then they would be used in a far more effective and effi-
cient way.
6.1 Reflections
Enterprise social network is a recent phenomenon in the industrial world. It has many features
and tools. The authors decided to focus their study on a very niche area of enterprise social net-
work which was a challenge in itself. Unlike organizations in the information technology domain,
large multinationals especially industrial organizations take considerable time to adapt due to the
organizational structure and the large workforce. This research is an attempt to understand the
impact of social networks in large industrial organization.
As the research involved one large industrial organization the authors used case study research.
The research questions ensured that focus was maintained. The concepts were considered with
the main aim of answering the research question. Knowledge sharing is an area that merits fur-
ther research. However it must be noted that multiple case studies and a variety of respondents
can provide far more in depth analysis on the usage of enterprise social networks. The research
question has been answered with the help of both primary and secondary data. The responses
obtained from the interview helped the authors to validate their initial assumptions
The research has also revealed the perception of industrial organizations with regard to use of
enterprise social network. To certain extent the research has also found out how organizations
use different tools for their activities. A quantitative analysis on the use of different features and
the purpose for which they are being used would have given different insights and conclusions
on the use of social networks but certain limitations hindered the authors from pursuing a quan-
titative analysis.
The Research analysis can be used to as basic evidence to convince an organization to have a so-
cial media network in their organizations. The research has also shown that employees and users
need to be trained on the use of enterprise social network as most of them tend to use it as a
personal social network.
54
The research therefore confirms that enterprise social network is a force to reckon with and it is
capable of changing the entire landscape of the organization.
6.2 Future Research
This research could be used as a support for other future research in the use of enterprise social
networks in organizations. As the field is relatively new the authors feel that there is a lot of
scope for future research.
This research focused on prevailing concepts such as open innovation, group dynamics and
knowledge sharing. Further thesis can focus on areas such as
a) Security in the enterprise social network- Building a highly secured enterprise social network,
as organizations is still wary of accepting social networking completely.
b) Organizational learning - How can social networks be designed and used to influence organ-
izational learning
c) Adoption of social networks and challenges- How new organizations can be convinced to
adopt and use Enterprise Social Networks effectively and the challenges that lie ahead.
d) Influence of social networks on small and medium organizations to improve business
e) A combination of quantitative and qualitative research on the topics mentioned above can
provide in depth analysis.
These topics can act as an origin of new ideas and designs with regard to enterprise social net-
works. The results of future research topic can also be combined with other topics which has the
potential to develop new products and services.
List of references
Alan J. Cann (2006) ,Really Simple Syndication , Effective use of IT: Guidance on Practice in the Biosciences ,Department of Biology, University of Leicester, 2006 Alexa Kierzkowski, Shayne Mcquade, Robert Waitman, Michael Zeisser (1996); Current Research: Marketing to the digital customer,The McKinsey Quarterly, No. 2, Anderson, C (2006). The long tail, how endless choice is creating unlimited demand. Ran-dom House BusinessBooks, New York Anderson, P. (2007). What is Web 2.0? Ideas, technologies and implications for education, Technology & Standards Watch, pp. 1-64. Available at: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/techwatch/tsw0701b.pdf (accessed 2April 2012)
Arthur L. J, Jackie A. M, & Mary E. K. (2010). Social Media at Work: How networking tools propel organizational performance. 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741: A Wiley Imprint
Aupperle, Carroll, & Hatfield,(1985),An Empirical Examination of the Relationship be-tween Corporate Social Responsibility and Profitability, The academy of management Journal, Vol.28, No:2, 448-463
Barbara Bickart, Robert. M. Schindler, (2001) Internet as a source of consumer informa-tion,
Barton, Hill, & Sundaram, (1989), An Empirical Test of Stakeholder Theory Predictions of Capital Structure, Vol. 18, No. 1, Spring, 1989, pp. 36-44
Barry Wellman (2005), Community: From Neighbor to Network, Communications of the ACM - The digital society Volume 48 Issue 10, October 2005
Barnes JA (1954), Class and Committees in a Norwegian Island Parish. Hum Relat 7:39–58
Blanchard AL, Markus ML (2004) The experienced ‘Sense’ of a virtual community: charac-teristics and processes. The DATA BASE for Adv Inform Syst 35(4):64–79 Brenner, S. N., & Molander, E. A. (1977). Is the ethics of business changing? Harvard Business Review, 58(1): 54-65.
Bryan Alexander and Alan Levine (2008), Web 2.0 Story Telling- A new Genre, Edu cause Review, November/December 2008,pp- 40-56
Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2003). Business research methods, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press Boyd, D., Ellison, N., (2008). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13 (1), pp. 210 – 230
Boyd, d. (2006). Friends, friendsters, and top 8: Writing Community into being on Social Network sites. Retrieved March 5, 2012, from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.79.5665
Campbell, D. T., & Fiske, D.W, (1959) Convergent and discriminant validation by the ma-trix 56, pp. 81-105
Chesbrough.W.H, (2003), Era of Open Innovation, MIT Sloan Management Review.
Clarkson, M. B. E. (1991). Defining, evaluating, and managing corporate social perform-ance: A stakeholder management model. In J. E. Post (Ed.), Research in corporate social per-formance and policy: 331-358. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Clarkson, (1991); Halal,(1990); Kreiner & Bhambri(1991), how organizations are actually being managed
Cornell, B., & Shapiro, A. C.(1987). Corporate stakeholders and corporate finance. Finan-cial Management, 16: 5-14. Cochran, P. L., & Wood, R. A.(1984). Corporate social responsibility and financial per-formance. Academy of Management Journal, 27: 42-56. Collis, J. & Hussey, R. (2003). Business Research: A practical guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Coleman J (1990) Foundations of social theory. Harvard University Press, Boston
Cormode and Krishnamurthy, (2008), Difference between web 1.0 and web 2.0, AT&T Research.
Cicourel, A.V. (1974). Cognitive sociology. New York: Free Press
De Mast, J., & Bergman, M. (2006). Hypothesis Generation Quality Improvement Projects: Approaches for Exploratory Studies. Quality and Reliability International, 22, pp. 839-850.
Denzin, N.K. (1970). The research act: A theoretical introduction to sociological methods. Chicago: Aldine Dodd, E. M JR (1932). For Whom are Corporate Managers Trustees, Harvard Law Review, 45, 1145-1163. Donaldson and Lee E. Preston (1995) The Stakeholder Theory of the Corporation: Con-cepts, Evidence, and Implications, The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 20, No. 1 pp. 65-91 Published by: Academy of Management Efthymios Constantinides and Stefan J Fountain (2008), Web 2.0: Conceptual foundations and marketing issues, Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice 9, 231–244
Ezzy D., (2002), “Qualitative Analysis: Practice and innovation”, Taylor & Francis Ltd.
George Durzi Michael Greenlee (2010), Unified Communications Development with Mi-crosoft Lync Server, Professional Ghauri, P. N., & Grönhaug, N. (2005), 3rd edition Research Methods in Business Studies: A Practical Guide UK: Prentice Hall
Gunther Eysenbach, MD, MPH (2008), Medicine 2.0: Social Networking, Collaboration, Participation, Apomediation, and Openness, J Med Internet Res. 2008 Jul-Sep; 10(3): e22. Published online 2008, August 25.
Hagel, J., III,& Armstrong, A.G. (1997). Net Gain: Expanding Markets Through Virtual Communities. Boston, MA (1997): Harvard Business School Press.Net gain, Hagel and Armstrong,
Holly Arrow, Joseph McGrath and Jennifer.L.Berdahl (2000), Small Groups as Complex Systems, , Sage Publications
Henry W. Chesbrough, (2003), Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology, Harvard Business School Press
Huysman M. & Dirk de Wit (2002). Knowledge Sharing in practice. Kluwer Academic Pub-lisher Norwell, MA, USA. Janice M. Morse& Lyn Richards(2002), Read me first for a user guide to Qualitative Method P. 26-27, 2002) Jan Laestander, Linkedin, 2012-04-20 Johnson GJ, Ambrose PJ (2006) Neo-tribes: the power and potential of online communi-ties in health care, Commun ACM 49(1):107–113
Josef Bleicher, Routledge & Kegan Paul (1980) Contemporary hermeneutics: hermeneutics as method, philosophy, 288 pages Joan M.DiMicco, Nicole B. Ellison, Cliff Lampe & Charles Steinfield (2009), Bowling online: social networking and social capital within the organization, C&T’09, June 25–27, 2009, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA, ACM 978-1-60558-601-4/09/06.
Kotter & Heskett, (1992), Corporate Culture and performance, The free Press Krippendorff, K. (1980), Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology, Ed.2, pp.81-95. Kvale, S. (1996). Interviews: an introduction to qualitative research interviewing. California: Thou-sand Oaks
Lars Backstrom , Dan Huttenlocher ,Jon Kleinberg ,Xiangyang Lan (2006), Group Forma-tion in Large Social Networks:Membership, Growth, and Evolution, August 20–23, , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Lather, P. (1993) ‘Fertile Obsession: Validity after Poststructuralism’, Sociological Quarterly 34(4): 673–93.
Lim KH, Sia CL, Lee MKO, Benbasat I (2006) Do I trust you online, and if so, will I buy? An empirical study of two trust-Building strategies. J Manage Inform Syst 23(2):233–266 Linda.S.Lai and Efraim Turban (2008), Groups Formation and Operations in the Web 2.0- Environment and Social Networks Volume 17, Number 5 (2008), 387-402 Lincoln and Guba, (1985) Establishing Trustworthiness, Naturalistic Enquiry, , page-215, CA:Sage Maged N Kamel Boulos,et.al, (2006) The emerging Web 2.0 social software: an enabling suite of sociable technologies in health and health care education, Faculty of Health and Social Work and Faculty of Education, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK Lync – http://office.microsoft.com/, retrieved (2012-04-16) Miles, M. B. & Huberman, A. M.(1994). Qualititative Data Analysis. Thousand Oaks, Ca:Sage Publications Michael.D.Myers (1997), Book: Quality research in information systems McAfee, A. (2009). Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organization's Tough-est Challenges. Boston: McGraw-Hill Professional McAfee, A. (2006). Enterprise 2.0: the dawn of emergent collaboration, MITSloan Manage-ment Review, 47 (3), pp. 21 – 28. McGuire, Sundgren, & Schneeweis,(1988), Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Fi-nancial Performance, The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 31, No. 4, Dec 1988, 854-872 Myers, M. D. "Qualitative Research in Information Systems (1997)," MIS Quarterly (21:2), June, pp. 241-242. MISQ Discovery, archival version, June 1997, Nonaka, I., and Takeuchi, H. (1995). The Knowledge- Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation, Oxford University Press, New York, 1995. Nonaka, I. (1991),``The knowledge creating company'', Harvard Business Review, Novem-ber-December, pp. 96-104
O‟Reilly, T. (2005). Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of
Software. Tim O‟Reilly‟s blog. Retrieved 2012-04-01, from http://oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html
O'Toole (1985), Vanguard management: Redesigning the corporate future, Doubleday Garden City, 1985, ed.1.
Paul Miller (2005), Web 2.0: Building the New Library, Issue 45, October-2005
Peter .G. Swanborn (1996), ‘ A common base for quality control criteria in quantitative and Qualitative research’, Quality and Quantity:30,19-35
Preston & Sapienza, (1990),Stakeholder management and corporate performance, Volume 19, Issue 4, Winter 1990, Pages 361–375
Preston, Sapienza, & Miller, (1991), Stakeholders, shareholders and managers, who gains what from corporate performance, in Amatai Etizioni and Paul Lawrence (eds.), Socio-Economics: Towards a new synthesis, Armonk: M.E.Sharpe
Phelps JE, Lewis R, Mobilio L, Perry D, Raman N (2005) Viral marketing or electronic word-of-mouth advertising: examining consumer responses and motivations to pass along email. J Advert Res 44(04):333–348 Rebecca Marschan Piekkari and Catherine Welch, (2004).Handbook of qualitative Research for International Business, Robson, C. (2002) Real World Research (2nd edition), Oxford, Blackwell Sally Thorne (2012), RN Data analysis in qualitative research, , PhD, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, ebn.bmj.com, 2012-04-05 Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2007). Research methods for business students, 4th ed. Edinburgh: Pearson education limited
Scania profile- Scania Website, (www.scania.com), retrieved 2012-04-16
Schumpeter, J. A. (1934). The Theory of Economic Development: an inquiry into profits. capital,credit, interest, and the business cycle. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press.
Seale, C. F. (1999a) The Quality of Qualitative Research, , December 1999 vol. 5, no. 4, 465-478.
Shenton, (2004) Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects, So-cial Science, Library and Information Science, and Administrative Sciences, Volume 22, Number 2/2004, Pages63-75 Shirley Reushle, Birgit Loch, July (2008), Conducting a trial of web conferencing software: Why, How, and Perceptions from the Coalface, ISSN 1302-6488 Volume: 9 Number: 3 Ar-ticle 2 S.Jeff Cold, (2006). Using Really Simple Syndication (RSS) to Enhance Student Research, ACM SIGITE Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 1, Smith.L.M (1992b), doing Ethnographic Biography, A reflective practitioner at work during a spring in cambridge, manuscript submitted for publication Sotirios Paroutis, Alya Al Saleh, (2009) "Determinants of knowledge sharing using Web 2.0 technologies", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 13, Issue: 4, pp.52 – 63. Surowiecki J (2004) The Wisdom of Crowds: why the many are smarter than the few and how collective wisdom shapes business, economies, societies and nations. Doubleday Books, New York
Steven N Brenner, Philip Cochran ,(1991),The stakeholder theory of the firm: Implications for business and society theory and research, International Association for Business and Society Proceedings, 1991/3/22,Vol
Spender, J. C.(1996), Making Knowledge the basis of a dynamic strategy of the firm‖, stra-tegic Management Journal, 17, pp. 45-62. Silver (2007), Using software in Quality Research, A step by step guide, 2007, Sage Publica-tions
Sims, D. (1999), ―Organizational Learning as the Development of Stories‖, In: Easterby Smith, M., L. Araujo and J. Burgoyne (eds), Organizational Learning and the Learning Organiza-tion: Developments in theory and practice, Sage Swanborn, PG (1996). A common base for quality control criteria in quantitative and qualitativeresearch. Quality and Quantity, volume 30, 19-35 Thomas Donaldson and Lee E. Preston (1995), the Stakeholder Theory of the Corpora-tion: Concepts, Evidence, and Implications, The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Jan., 1995), pp. 65-91,Published by: Academy of Management Ltd Tapscott, D., & Williams, A. (2007). Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Every-thing. Toronto: New Paradigm Tom Gruber,(2007), Collective knowledge systems: Where the Social Web meets the Se-mantic Web, Volume 6, Issue 1, Pages 4–13. Von Krogh, G., k. Ichijo, and I. Nonaka (2000), Enabling Knowledge creation, Oxford Uni-versity Press Wang, J., and H. D. Dewhirst,(1992) ``Boards of directors and stakeholder orientation'', Journalof Business Ethics, Vol. 11, 1992, pp. 115-123. Wax, M. (1982) Research reciprocity rather than informed consent. In Ethics of Social re-search: vol. 2, pp.33-48. New York
Wesch, (2007), What is Web 2.0? What Does It Mean for Anthropology? Lessons From an Accidental Viral Video, Volume 48, Issue 5, pages 30–31, May 2007
Webology, Jack.M.Maness (1996), Library 2.0 Theory: Web 2.0 and Its Implications for Libraries, , Volume 3, Number 2, June, 2006
Woods D. & Thoeny P. (2007) ―Wikis for Dummies‖ Wiley Publishing, Inc. Indiana, Unit-ed States Yates, D., Wagner, C., Majchrzak, A. (2010). Factors affecting shapers of organizational wikis, Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 61 (3), pp. 543 – 554.
Yammer, www.Yammer.Com, retrieved (2012-04-16) Yin, R. (1994).Case study research: Design and methods (2nd ed.). Beverly Hills, CA:Sage Publishing Yin, R. K. (2003). Case Study Research, Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks, Ca:Sage Publication.
Interview Guide for Case Study
Concepts Questions
Open innovation
How do you practice open innovation in
the organization
Which specific software tool is used in
open innovation
Which feature of the tool is very useful
in open innovation
How are employees encouraged to prac-
tice open innovation.
How is innovation encouraged across
various levels of the organization across
the globe?
Stake holder Theory
Which feature in the social network tool
is most beneficial to stake holders
What kind of impact does social network
have on various stake holders?
Which Stake holder is most benefited?
Does any stake holder exert influence
over others?
Group Dynamics
What are the characteristics of the
groups formed on social networks?
What kind of information is exchanged
between the groups?
How is group behavior influenced in the
social network?
Which feature in the social network tool
encourages group formation?
How is group formation encouraged by
the organization?
Knowledge Sharing
What kind of knowledge is shared by the
stake holders
How is knowledge sharing encouraged
across the organization?
Which feature in the social networking
tool is used to exchange knowledge?
